


Riverdale's lost girl

by Charlotte_Horemans



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Broken Families, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Legends, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Romance, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-07-03 06:25:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 173,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15813273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlotte_Horemans/pseuds/Charlotte_Horemans
Summary: From a heartbreaking phone call to Jughead collapsing in tears and only Betty to console him and a girl on the run, Riverdale's old wounds are ripped open. Especially with the new brunette in town.The Jones' kids lives have been separated for the last five years with nothing but an occasional phone call but a headstrong girl is determined to change that, even if it means seeing her father again.  She's realised that if she doesn't go now, while she's still a child she might never get to see her brother again, not until tragedy draws her in. But little does she know about the Serpents and the complications Riverdale hold.





	1. Preview

**Author's Note:**

> The following story takes place somewhere between episodes 15-17 and the actual events of Riverdale have been set on hold. All recommendations, suggestions, ideas and reviews on this story are very welcome and will be taken into consideration.  
> Note that everything is according to the show apart from added storylines and Jellybean's age.  
> Enjoy.  
> More of this story is posted under the same name on Fanfiction.net (up to thirty chapters)  
> 

Jughead awoke suddenly and looked around him, the sun started to rise and he didn't know why he'd woken up. He got up off the sofa bed, groaning and made his way to the kitchen. He walked unsteadily and froze when he heard voices. Or maybe it was only one. All his senses went rigid and suddenly he was wide awake. He kept walking, much softer and much more alert this time, his ears trying to pick up what the voice or voices were saying. He kept walking, past the kitchen, the voices became louder and clearer as he kept walking towards the source. His hands clenched into fists, ready to take on whoever had entered his house uninvited. He came close enough to recognise it was his dad speaking in a hushed voice, he sighed, it was only his dad on the phone. He'd been too paranoid to even recognise his own father's voice, too used to the bad and evil. Jughead was about to turn around to get something to eat and maybe catch another hour of sleep before school started when a thought accused to him.

Why would his dad be calling someone so early in the morning and speak in a hushed voice? Jughead crept closer to his father's bedroom until he could easily press his ear against the wooden door and tried to pick up as much of the conversation as he could.

"Please, please, just think about it." FP said pleadingly, voice breaking, "You don't have to answer now or tomorrow. Just think about it….Yes, I know. But…"

Jughead nearly sank to his knees at his father's tone of voice. The king of the Serpents, the strongest man Jughead knew, his father was….Begging, pleading and desperate to the point of tears. Who could possibly reduce his father to tears? Jughead wasn't ready for the answer. He pressed his head closer to the door, trying not to miss anything.

"You could just come for a weekend, you don't even have to see me if you don't want to, just please, even if it's just for Jughead…"

There was a silence as whoever was on the other of the line spoke, Jughead held his breath as the silence carried on.

"You think I don't know that, Goddamnit!" FP said, almost shouting but his voice broke.

"I know," he said, "I know I was a mess but I'm fixing it. I quit drinking, for real this time, I cleaned up the trailer, Jughead's come back home, I'm working at Pop's. I'm fixing things, I'm being the father I know Jug needs. I'm there for him. He shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes, to never be able to see his family again for what I did."

Tears sprung to Jughead's eyes as he realised who his dad was talking to and what he was saying.

"I know it's too late," his father continued, "I know I can never take back everything I did but I…" There was a silence as FP tried to keep himself from crying, "I just want to see my daughter again. I want her to see Riverdale again, even if it's only once, only for an hour, I want her to see it again before it might change forever. I just want her to see Jughead again, I want you to see him again too. He misses his mother and sister. Please, Gladys…"

Jughead bit his lip to keep from sobbing as he heard his mother's name come from his father's lips. Something he hadn't heard in years and only in this exact moment did he realise how much he needed to hear it again. How much he needed his father to fix things with his mother, how much he needed to see his mother and sister again, how much he missed them. And how badly they'd abandoned him and weren't going to come and get him or even visit him, ever.

"Please Gladys," His dad pleaded again, "Let Jughead see his mother and sister again. Just…just think it over. I…"

He stopped mid-sentence and Jughead jumped in shock as a huge crash came from his father's bedroom. His father swore and Jughead knew his mother had hung up on him and they weren't coming to see him. And that there was nothing he or his dad could do about it.

The tears started streaming uncontrollably down his face and he couldn't take it anymore. He pushed himself off the door and ran. Not knowing that somewhere far away in another trailer, in another trailer park, at the other end of this phone call his sister did the same. Neither of them knowing the other flung open the door and ran, tears blurring their vision, with no idea what to do next.

"Oh shit, Jughead." His father swore again, realising the crash had probably woken his son. FP flung his bedroom door open but Jughead was already long gone. The open door of the trailer swung softly in the morning wind, which Jughead had hastily swung open mere seconds ago. The light of the rising sun broke through the open door, illuminating the dark trailer as FP swore once more. FP sunk into his sofa, cursing himself for letting his son down again and not being able to keep him from running out the door again. He cursed himself at failing to stick his family back together and letting Jughead be the one to take the blow.

Jughead ran and ran and just kept running until he couldn't find any reason to do so anymore, he kept running until the tears stopped. He didn't know where he was going, it was mid-spring but there was still a chill morning air and he had nothing but the clothes he'd slept in to keep him warm. He rubbed his naked arms, trying to warm them up and because he didn't know what else to do with his hands. He felt like punching something but he didn't have the strength to do so and he knew damn well it wouldn't fix a thing. He wished he had his beanie or at least something warmer than his sleeveless undershirt and jeans. He didn't know where he was going until he looked up, he looked around him and realised his feet had taken him to the one place in the world he needed to be right now. He was on his way to Betty's.


	2. Escape to nowhere

He smiled to himself, not believing that despite everything going on his feet had brought him to the one person he needed to see. The only person he could turn to. He kept walking, only this time with sure determination. He walked up the steps of her house and hesitation, not sure what to do, whether he should risk ringing the doorbell or not. It was only 6 in the morning and just because Betty could wake up early, unlike him, didn't mean she particularly wanted to. He shook off his uncertainty and rang the bell, praying no one but Betty would open the door. No reply came from the silent house. He tried again and this time it opened, it was Betty. He sighed in relief and almost forgot how to speak at the sight of her. Her hair down and messy, eyes sleepy and still dressed in her short pyjama shorts and shirt. He didn't say anything but she smiled up at him,

"Hey Jug, you're up early." She said sleepily and yawned. It must have shown on his face how badly he wanted to curl up in her arms and cry because her face turned worrisome.

"Hey Jug, you okay? What's wrong?"

He didn't need to answer because she'd already stepped out of her house, closed the door behind her and pulled him close as his eyes started filling with tears. She wrapped her arms around him as he collapsed into her, his head falling into her shoulder and he let himself cry. Betty didn't ask questions or try to comfort him, she simply hugged him tighter. He wrapped his arms around her and held on just as tight as she did him. They stood there, the two of them, just Betty and Jughead, holding each other for what felt to them like a glorious eternity. They just held on to each other, freezing on Betty's porch.

After Jughead shoulders had stopped shaking and he'd stopped crying they still held each other and didn't let go of each other for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry," Jughead said, wiping his eyes. Betty shook her head, wiping away the rest of his tears.

"Hey, it's okay. I get it. Whatever you need." She whispered and kissed him softly, accepting all his broken parts. He took her face in his hands and kissed her back, not realizing until now how much he'd needed this. They pulled away smiling, Betty shivered.

"Sorry," Jughead said again, only this time he was smiling, "You're probably freezing," he said, warming her hands in his.

"Like you aren't." Betty shot back, snorting, feeling bad for not getting him something warmer. Although she secretly thought he looked really good in nothing but his undershirt. She crossed her legs in an attempt to keep warm.

"I need it too sometimes," she admitted, embarrassed. "Someone to hold me, to take me into their arms, I need you to hold me too sometimes and you always have." She looked down, not sure what he'd say.

"Thank you," Jughead said, lifting her chin.

"What is it Jughead?" Betty said softly, looking into those endless green eyes. "What's wrong?"

She waited, knowing it would always take him a while to open up but that, in the end, he always did.

"Remember," he started, then choked on his words, he tried again, "Remember when I told you I just wanted to get out. Out of Riverdale, away from everything, from everyone, I need that now. I need to just drive, with no idea of where I'm going, no idea how far and no idea when I'll come back. Will you come with me?"

He looked at her hopefully and she smiled, cupping his face with her hands,

"Yes, Jughead." Their smiles grew, "Of course I'll come, just let me get my stuff and we'll get out of here. I'll be a few minutes though."

He looked at her in relief, eyes full of love for her, still looking at her as she reentered her house and closed the door behind her. His eyes lingered on her door for a few seconds before he turned away, smiling. She was the sun breaking through the storm clouds and he would do all he could so he could be her sun too. It suddenly dawned on him how not-a-plan his escape plan was. But he guessed that was kinda of the point. Even so, he still needed to be a little prepared.

He stared at Archie's house, trying to make up his mind. Before he could convince himself otherwise and realize that this was a terrible idea he crossed the short distance between the two houses and rung the Andrew's doorbell. Just like at Betty's the door only opened after the second ring. Only this times, Mr Andrews opened the door and unlike Betty, he was wide awake. Kinda. He clearly hadn't gotten any sleep and was staying awake on coffee.

"Hey, sorry to bother you," Jughead said awkwardly, "I'm here for Archie."

Fred yawned loudly before answering.

"Yeah of course you are. I'll get him for you." He said in slurred words.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jughead asked concerned, worried he might have to catch the big man where he to fall asleep where he stood.

"Yeah, fine." Mr. Andrews said, shaking his head. "I was just writing my speech for the election."

"I think you'd be better of getting some sleep Mr. Andrews" Jughead advised.

"Yeah maybe," Fred said when Archie's voice came from behind him.

"Jughead? Dad? What's going on?"

Archie asked as he walked towards the front door in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Jughead greeted Archie with an awkward nod.

"Hey Archie, I just came to talk to you about something."

Archie instantly snapped out of his sleepy trance.

"Yeah, yeah absolutely," he said hurriedly. "C'mon in."

Jughead shook his head, glancing to Betty's to make sure she hadn't returned yet.

"No, it's okay." He said, "I'm in a bit of a hurry."

Mr. Andrews, while tired, wasn't dumb and noticed the tension between them. He left the scene and made his way to the staircase, on his way to a few hours of well-deserved sleep.

"Oh…Ok" Archie said, slightly disappointed, and stepped closer to Jughead so they were standing just two feet apart for the first time in a very long time. Jughead stood perfectly still, making no move to enter the house of god forbid it, give Archie a hug.

"Hey man, I know we've been through a lot."

"I know it's probably bad timing but can I borrow your car."

They both said at the same time then looked down embarrassed. Neither having expected what the other would say. Jughead broke the awkward silence.

"Look, Archie, I get the water's rough between us and we've been avoiding talking about it but I need to borrow your car today and I swear that we will talk."

Jughead pleaded, knowing it was a promise he couldn't guaranty he would keep, Archie knew it too. He hated using Archie like this but it would make it even for all the times Archie had used Jughead.

Archie nodded thoughtfully,

"Yeah okay," Archie said calmly before he gave in to his frustration. "Man I hate this, what happened to us Jughead?" He asked frustrated, looking to his old friend for answers he didn't have. Jughead had asked himself the same question for days on end for a long time. Jughead thought back to when they were kids, life had never been as easy for him as it had been for Archie but neither of their lives had ever been this messy before. He'd always been the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, playing with the other kids just like him, and every day they were reminded of it, even at the age of 7. Parents pulled their curious kids away from them and gave them nasty looks. But one day a little ginger had let go of his mother's hand and walked over to the lonely boy playing in the sandbox, building a sandcastle.

"Hey, Can I play? I'm Archie." Archie had introduced himself, sitting down next to Jughead. Jughead had looked up at him in surprise and nodded, he'd seen the ginger before but they'd never come close to meeting.

"I'm Jughead," He'd said shyly, wiping his hair away from his eyes. Archie had laughed and Jughead's head had dropped in embarrassment and he'd almost started crying when Archie spoke.

"I wish I had a cool name like that." Archie had said, making little Jughead smile widely. And ever since that day, the two seven year olds had become great friends, growing up together despite the distance between them. Both physical and not. And Jughead got to meet Archie's best friend Betty. Jughead had told her she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen to which she'd laughed and said he couldn't say things like that because she was going to marry Archie, but that was a long time ago. And then high school happened and everything began falling apart, Betty was still head over heels for Archie, Archie left Jughead for football, Jughead was homeless and half of his family had packed their bags and left. But then like a flick of a switch everything had changed, the three of them were friends again, he'd started dating Betty and was solving mysteries with her, his dad was set free from prison and quit drinking, Jughead had been the happiest he'd ever been until it started falling apart again.

He still had Betty and his dad but he and Archie had fallen apart again, standing against each other again and again. He thought back to the sandbox, their many nights at Pop's, something that may never happen again. And maybe this time there was no fixing it but the hope in Archie's eyes sparked the hope in Jughead's. Maybe. The word seemed to hang between them. They were one big maybe. Maybe they couldn't fix this today. Maybe not even next week but maybe they'd get through it. Maybe they could fix it.

"I don't know Archie, I don't know but we'll figure it out."

Jughead said, not sure whether he was right. "Maybe not today or tomorrow. But we will, soon." Jughead continued, Archie nodded and disappeared into his dad's kitchen and returned a few seconds later with the car keys. He tossed them to Jughead who caught them with ease.

"Thanks a million," Jughead said and made to turn around when Archie spoke,

"You were right by the way." He said as Jughead started to walk away, he looked over his shoulder to Archie.

"About what?" He asked and Archie sighed.

"That is would only be a matter of time before we all blew up. You, me, Betty and Veronica, it all blew up."

"That's not what I said Archie, I said how amazed I was at how close we were and how that terrified me, that we were a powder keg and it would only take one match for us to blow up. The match hadn't dropped just yet. It's not over yet, we can still put us back together again." Jughead said and walked out into the porch. Archie nodded with pursed lips and closed the door behind Jughead.

Jughead entered the garage and couldn't help stare at the car appreciatively. He'd never been much of a car fanatic but he could appreciate this one for sure. He smiled a troublemaker's smile and got in the front seat. He drove it out of the garage where it had been staying for the last week, along with an abandoned drum set and guitar. He parked it outside Betty's house, got out and walked up the porch just as she exited her house. She'd replaced her pyjamas for a blue button-down shirt and blue jeans, her hair pulled up into its usual ponytail. But that wasn't what Jughead was looking at. He stared at her as she walked over to him, a proud smile on her face.

"So what do you think?"

She asked, showing off what he was staring it, his beanie. She'd pulled it on over her ponytail just before she'd left the house, just to see what it felt like on her head and how he'd react. It framed her face perfectly, making her even more beautiful in Jughead's opinion.

"I think it looks amazing on you," He said, kissing her forehead,

"And," he continued, pulling her close to him. "I think we should get you a crown of your own, a queen's crown." She smiled widely and nodded,

"I think I'd like that," she said and pulled him in for another kiss. After a long minute they both pulled back, but only so far that their foreheads touched when something caught Betty's eyes. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. It was Archie's car.

"How did you…" She trailed off as Jughead chuckled.

"I can be very persuasive," he said, she looked up at him,

"Yes, you can be." She said, smiling smugly, Jughead returned the smug smile and gave her a quick peck before pulling back to open the passenger door for her. She smiled at him as she took a seat and he closed the door for her.

It had taken her much longer to get dressed and ready than she had expected. She'd gone in thinking she would be five minutes, ten minutes tops. She'd hated having to leave Jughead in the cold but she wasn't about to risk bringing him inside. And just as well she hadn't either, for her mother was waiting for her in the living room.

"Who was that?"

Alice Cooper had asked from where she'd stood in the kitchen, Betty had turned to her mother, who had her hair up in a bun and was dressed, like all mornings in her usual dressing gown.

"Veronica," Betty had lied, her mind racing for an excuse,

"I thought you two weren't on good terms with the election and everything."

Betty had shrugged,

"It wasn't a social call, she just came to tell me there was early cheerleading practice and that she would drive me."

Alice had raised her eyebrow at Betty's excuse, not fully convinced of this very unlikely story.

Betty had nearly sighed with relief when Alice shrugged and told her to go and pack a bag and that she could go with Veronica. Betty could have hardly believed she'd pulled it off, she'd always been a terrible liar about absolutely anything. She'd run up the stairs as fast as she could and rushed into her room. She'd ripped open her draws and had looked for the right clothes. After a few minutes of holding up different shirts to her chest and looking in the mirror, she'd decided on the button down shirt which had taken her forever to button up and the jeans she'd worn the day before. She'd decided to wear something different to her usual pink bra and went for red with matching underwear. No longer trying to be the perfect pink girl she used to have to be. She felt like pink almost didn't suit her anymore and she'd worn it less and less these past few days. And others had noticed. Recently she'd worn black and white and Jughead had commented on it, saying,

"Black suits you Betts, you even wear it better than me."

He'd then kissed her briefly. Betty had been grateful for his acceptance of her change. Even when it didn't seem so drastic.

She'd thought back to those moments as she had brushed her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Something she could do in her sleep. Suddenly something had occurred to her. Yesterday Jughead had come over to plan for their school presidency campaign and their speeches. They'd been so busy they'd worked on until far into the night. And in the end, he'd forgotten his crown. She'd grabbed it, along with her bag on the way out of her room and had stuffed a few blankets inside the bag as she'd descended the staircase.

"Call me when you get to school." Her mom had called after her but she'd already run out the door. Ready for her adventure with Jughead, whatever that may be.

20 minutes later the couple was driving down an empty road. The roof was down and they laughed as the wind ripped through their hair with the radio on full blast, Jughead's beanie back on his head. Betty pulled out her hairband in one swift motion and laughed as she let her hair fly freely in the wind. She turned to Jughead who looked at her lovingly, as if she'd just revealed a part of herself just for him, which she, in a way, had. Betty always had her hair up, not only because it was practical and easy to maintain. It represents the perfect girl she was always supposed to be but also how through all the pain and the torture she'd survived. She'd gone through the fire and had survived, standing victoriously on the other end. She hadn't let it break her, she'd still been Betty Cooper. Just as strong and resilient, but for now, she could let all of that go. She didn't have to be strong now, she just had to be there for Jughead and not be perfect, just herself.

It had become such a huge part of her or iconic as Kevin called it, like Jughead's beanie was his, that to remove it was to lay herself naked before him. He looked at her as her hair flew freely in the wind and, still looking at her, he removed his beanie and threw it in the backseat. Had Veronica been there she would have called him a gentlemen for doing so. Jughead and Betty smiled at each other, everything they'd gone through flashing between them.

They kept driving, the sun rising before them, radio blaring, wind roaring and their hands entwined between them. Neither of them had a plan and that was okay, they were just going to be there for each other and do whatever it was together, and away from Riverdale and the real world. No more pushing each other away. Ever. They laughed and joked between them for a long time before Jughead pulled the car over into a field with long, unkempt grass that had flowers growing among and between them. They sat in the car in silence for a minute, the only sound the soft rustle of the grass and the whistling of the wind.

"Hey Jughead," Betty said softly, breaking the silence, almost hating herself for bringing it up, but knowing she had too, "Why are we here Jughead?" She asked, speaking softly and leaning towards him, her face only inches from his.

She knew he wasn't good at sharing his feelings but she also knew he had to. Or he would implode.

"I...I heard my dad on the phone with my mom, he was pleading, almost in tears. Begging her to come home or to at least visit, to at least let Jellybean see me. He said he was doing better, working and taking care of me and that….that he knew it was too late." Jughead refused to meet her gaze as he spoke, instead he was looking straight ahead as if the scene was playing out again in front of him, his eyes glazed and distant. He turned his tear-filled eyes to Betty,

"He's trying to fix it Betty, but it's too late."

Betty touched his arm comfortingly, squeezing his hand.

"It's never too late Jughead, you can't say that," She said, looking deep into his green eyes. "He's trying and that's what's important. It's never too late to try and fix something. It's never too late to get your family together."

Jughead shuddered, holding in a sob.

"That's just it Betty, no matter what happens, we can never go back to the way we were. It wasn't perfect but it was something." He took a deep breath and continued, "Even if dad got them back home, even if we were together as a family again, we wouldn't fit anymore. Not just because of my dad and all he did. Not because of my mother leaving. Not because they weren't good for each other but also because of me. I wouldn't fit anymore either. I've changed so much since I was with them. I'm no longer a loner kid living in Archie's shadow, I'm a Serpent, I've got you, the most amazing person in the whole world, I'm running for freaking school president with you," He said smiling,

"I've changed. I've been to hell and back a few times, with and without you, I've done some unspeakable things. Betty, I'm haunted by them but they are part of me, as much as I might hate that. I've changed and I like the new me. I like the me that has you to help me through the haunting parts and the good parts. The me that has you. And….You. You keep me from falling apart."

Betty's eyes started filling with tears of her own as she realized what he was saying

"I want my family back together but not if it means giving up on who I am now and going back to who I was then."

He finished and looked at her wearily,

"Does that make any sense?"

He asked Betty, eyebrows scrunched together,

"Yes, yes!" Betty replied, kissing him, her smile too big for her face "Of course it does. I feel it too."

Jughead sighed in relief at what she'd said,

"I don't know whether I want my family back together either," Betty admitted, wiping her hair away from before her eyes, "Ever since I've brought Chic back it's only become worse. My father's done horrible things to my mother sister and me but my mom's done bad things too. Things I can never forgive either of them for. I sometimes dream of us all, my mom, dad, Chic, Polly, her twins and me sitting around the dining room table, happy, as a family, normal. But I know it would never work. My parents would have to drug all of us into perfection for that to work. But they're not the only ones that have done bad things, I've done bad things too. I'm haunted too Jughead but you keep me from falling apart, not my family, not that dream of us being united. You. Just you."

Jughead smiled and kissed her, she cupped his face in her hands and pulled him closer. He leant forward, out of his seat and almost on top of her. He held her just as close as she did him as their kisses came faster and faster, deeper and deeper.

"Wait," Betty said between kisses, "Backseat." She mumbled and claimed his mouth in hers. Jughead nodded and went over onto the back seat first, moving backwards, legs first so he'd never have to stop kissing her or let her go, she turned around to follow him over. He reached back into the front seat and, putting his hands under her thighs lifted Betty over the seats back and into him, his mouth never leaving hers. They fell back into the backseat, laughing quietly as Betty landed right into Jughead's lap. They kept kissing, tongues sliding and moving together, mouth's clashing, Jughead's hands moving to her waist as she slid off his lap and pulled him on top of her. Her back sinking further into the soft cushion of the seat. Her hands went up through his hair and down the back of his neck, pulling him closer as his hand went up and down her waist, exposing the skin beneath her shirt, the other hand placed beside her head, propping himself up. He tore his mouth away from hers and made a trail of kisses down her neck to her collarbone. She removed her hands from his hair to pull his shirt up over his head. He sat up a bit and put his arms up so she could lift it easier. She took advantage of the situation and leaned forward, kissing his chest and making a trail of her own up to his mouth as her hand trailed down to his stomach, her nail slightly scratching, and kept trailing down a little beneath his belt. He kissed her passionately, devouring her, pushing her back into the seat, his hands leaving her waist and trailing up her body, stopping at the top button of her shirt. And he started unbuttoning it.

He kissed her neck, tongue rolling over her soft skin with every button that he popped, making the task very complicated but definitely not unpleasant. He kept going, popping them on at a time until the very last one. He then gently pulled the cloth apart, revealing the red lace beneath.

"You are so beautiful, all of you," Jughead said, pulling back a little to look her in the eye.

"I love you Juggy," Betty said smiling,

"I love you too Betts," He said back, smiling at the nickname she'd given him that no one else could ever call him by.

Back in Riverdale, Veronica passed backwards and forwards, twisting her phone in her hand.

"You don't think anything happened to her Kevin?"

She asked for the third time already and first period hadn't even started yet. Kevin sighed from where he was leaning against his locker.

"Maybe she's just late." He said. Veronica snorted at that and continued pacing,

"Betty Cooper, Late. I don't think so. And where's that boyfriend of hers?" She asked, getting frustrated.

"Also MIA," Archie said, coming up from beside her, back from his unsuccessful Betty hunt. "It was really weird," he continued, "He was at my house at 5:30 and asked if he could borrow my car. Of all things. He's not answering his phone either."

"Yeah, neither is Betty. God. What are they doing? What would they need a car for? Did it sound urgent to you? Did he seem nervous?"

Veronica asked frantically, Archie just shrugged, clueless. Thinking he probably should have asked what Jughead planned to do with the car before handing him the keys.

"You think they're up to something detective-ish?"

Veronica asked her friends, Kevin shook his head,

"Again, what would they need the car for?"

"I don't know!" Veronica said, getting frustrated.

"And the presidential campaign is in two days, why would Betty go now?"

Cheryl came up behind them and stood before them, hair and everything else perfect as always, but no one was surprised by her appearance at the scene, you could have heard her heels clicking from a mile away.

"You guys are obviously missing the obvious answer," She said, looking down on them, "They're obviously on some sort of couple retreat or something, I mean, with everything going on. Why wouldn't they be? Sounds pretty appealing to me too."

Kevin sighed blissfully in agreement,

"It does doesn't it?" He said to no one in particular. Veronica agreed with him but didn't voice her opinion.

"Yeah maybe," Veronica said to Cheryl.

Ever since Veronica and Toni had broken Cheryl out of that mental institution they had been so much closer but not quite friends yet.

Veronica opened her phone to try calling Betty again when her phone started vibrating, she checked it in hopes of it being Betty but it wasn't, it was Alice Cooper. She flipped her phone to her friends who all cringed at the sight of Alice's name.

"Answer it," Archie said urgently.

"And say what?" Veronica asked desperately,

"Well, say anything, but that the two of them are probably just screwing each other silly as we speak," Cheryl said not very helpfully, Veronica gave her a flat stare before returning to the issue of her ringing phone.

"I don't know, just go with it. We'll help you through it, put it on speaker."

Kevin said and Veronica nodded, feeling much more confident.

"Okay, here goes nothing." She said and accepted the call.

"Hi, Mrs. Cooper." She said cheerfully looking at Kevin in panic, he nodded encouragingly.

"Ah Veronica, finally," came the undoubtable voice of Alice Cooper, "At least someone picks up."

There was a pause where no one said anything and Veronica started to panic but Alice kept going.

"Betty's not answering her phone, have you seen her? Is she okay?" Alice asked, sounding almost genuinely worried. Almost.

"Yes," Veronica lied, holding the phone out so her friends could hear, she bent forward so she could speak into it easier. "She's on her way to first period."

"Well," came Alice's sharp voice, "When you see her, tell her to answer her damn phone, please. Anyway, how was practice?"

Shit. Veronica thought and mouthed it to her friends, was Alice making small talk with her? Kevin put his thumbs up, mouthing, "Say good."

Veronica nodded and accepted his advice.

"Yeah, very good," Veronica said confidently, "Better than I'd expected. I'm very proud of her."

She bit her lip and waited, fearing she'd said something wrong and Alice would suspect. Her friends all held their breath.

"Ok great." Mrs. Cooper replied and the group of friends all sighed in relief. Apart from Cheryl who just looked bored.

"Thanks, Veronica, bye."

"Bye Mrs. Cooper.," Veronica said and ended the call.

"Okay, we need to find Betty before her mom does or finds out the truth."

"Which is?" Asked Cheryl.

"That Betty's missing."

Veronica said and marched down the hall, clutching her purse to her chest and with no plan as to what she was going to do.

An hour or so outside Riverdale a sleepy Jughead woke up for the second time that morning. He looked around him but didn't need to look far before his eyes rested on Betty's sleeping face. He smiled at the sight of her, peaceful, sleeping in his arms. He couldn't remember having fallen asleep but he wasn't surprised. He'd had a rough couple of hours and so had she. They'd grabbed the blankets Betty had packed and wrapped themselves up in them like a cocoon. And they'd simply lain there together until their eyes had become droopy and they'd fallen into a blissful sleep. Jughead looked at Betty's sleeping face a little longer, wondering what he'd ever done to deserve her before he started waking her up. Softly and sweetly. Kissing her nose, forehead and the corner of her mouth softly.

"Good morning Betty."

He whispered softly as her eyes started fluttering open, she moaned and looked up at him, squinting a little at the sun peeking out from behind Jughead's head.

"Morning," She mumbled softly before closing her eyes again and cuddling closer into Jughead, getting more comfortable.

"What time is it?" She asked just as Jughead thought she might have fallen asleep again. Jughead sighed,

"I don't even wanna know." he said, not making a move to get up or find out what time it was. He wrapped his arm tighter around her instead.

"Let's just forget about everything for another minute."

Betty laughed softly, her eyes opening but still heavy with sleep.

"Are you suggesting, Jughead Jones, that we stay here and skip school, which we are undoubtedly late for?" Betty said teasingly.

Jughead only groaned in response and kissed her forehead again. Betty smiled blissfully and amongst all the chaos and the mess of everything the two smiled and fell back into their undisturbed sleep, the world once again almost perfect.

"I'm scared Kath, I don't know what to do…I," Jellybean said in a trembling voice.

This morning had been absolute shit. She'd fallen asleep in her text book again for the fifth night in a row and had, once again, awoken with a sore neck and the shape of her book printed into her face. She'd groaned, rubbing her sore neck and gotten up off her comfortable desk chair, planning on crashing into her nice, welcoming, unused bed when she heard her mother from the living room.

Why was her mother up so early? Jellybean had thought to herself and checked her phone.

What the fuck? She'd thought, it was 5:30. Her mother was never awake before 9, 8 was rare, 6 out of the question. She was always too tired from working too many late nights. Jellybean had left her dark room and walked down the hall of their small trailer. She was about to call for her mother when she caught a snippet of her mom's conversation on the phone.

"No, there's no way I'm letting my daughter back into that hellhole you call a home. Or anywhere near you for that matter."

There had been a short silence before her mother's voice had continued angrily,

"You should have thought of that before you gave up on this family. Yes I was the one who packed my bags, grabbed Jellybean and left but it was you who abandoned us. And there's no fixing that!"

No she couldn't be, Jellybean thought, her mom couldn't possibly be talking to her father, her good for nothing, drunk, shitty father who'd send her and Jughead, this whole family, to hell. She stood by the doorway but far enough into the shadows so her mother couldn't see her.

"I don't care FP!" She heard her mother say but Jellybean had never heard her mother speak so flatly and so full of range, not since leaving FP and that life behind her. It wasn't fair, not fair that he could reach them now, and bring out the worst in her mother even with the distance between them.

"You're right, this isn't Jughead's fault." her mother continued and Jellybean nearly choked on a sob at the sound of his name. And it all resurfaced, all the guilt she'd felt for leaving her brother in the hands of that drunk, or never calling anymore or visiting. The guilt of trying to forget him.

"But if he really wanted to see us, he could have called more. Could have asked to see us more." Gladys had tried to argue, more with herself then FP, but knowing fully well Jughead wasn't to blame, "And I…I can't deal with this stuff right now. I can't see him again and be reminded of how I left him." She started to cry, "To be reminded of what a horrible mother I am for abandoning him, to leave him to live with you. I managed to save Jellybean from your corrupting heart and I'll always, always regret not getting Jughead out too. But I won't jeopardize it by letting my daughter see you again or her brother. She's got to heal and it's time you did too."

Gladys had tried holding herself together as long as she could but sobs were breaking free from her body, choking out of her. Jellybean had covered her mouth with her hand to keep her own sobs in, she'd suffocate before she'd let her mother see her cry.

"I'm sorry FP, I can't do it," Gladys said and all had gone silent. The only sound had been that of Gladys sobbing, loudly and in pain, old scars that had started to fade had been ripped open, all her sins she'd been trying to forget had been thrown before her again and with every scream, the two of them broke apart even more. Jellybean had sunken to the floor and curled up in herself. She'd cried but hadn't dared make a sound. She'd known she should have gotten up from the floor and gone to her mother but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had to take care and be there for her mom but who was going to take care of her? Not her mother, definitely not her father or brother for that matter, who she might never see again. She'd had to get out, out of her skin, out of her life, just out.

The words had just kept ringing in her head as she'd cried.

Out. Out. Out.

She couldn't stand it anymore, this room was too small, this trailer was too small, the world too small. Before her sobs could have given her away she got to her feet, her hands trailing the wall behind her for support. And she did the one thing she'd always been good at and hated herself for, she ran. Just like Jughead did, she ran.

Out of the trailer, out of the trailer park, just out.

She wanted to run, run anywhere, run to the only place she could, run all the way to school. School, as lame as it sounded, was her only escape from home, where she'd had her first kiss, where she'd spend hours drawing, painting and oddly enough, where she was most herself. But as she placed more and more distance between herself and the trailer park she realized she had to go back, to talk to her mom but she wasn't ready to face her yet. She sat down on a nearby bench and thought. She had to see her brother, to try and fix things. She'd tried so long to live without him, to pretend like he was dead or didn't exist. Like she was grieving his death but he wasn't dead. He was out there, breathing, alive, maybe even happy and it was time she fixed their relationship. Time to stop pretending and wake up, before it was truly too late. And she wouldn't wait another day. All that was keeping her here was her mom and Kath. Kath. She had to call Kath. The one person who was always there for her.

Kath, Jellybean's best friend, spoke to her soothingly,

"Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault." Jellybean was about to protest but Kath didn't give her a chance as she kept talking. "And I know how guilty you feel about leaving Jughead and it's not too late. It's never too late to fix family. If you want to see him, then go. See him. Your mother can't stop you." Kath laughed, making Jellybean smile. "Hell, not even a truck could stop the invisible Jellybean when she's after what she wants. And I know there's no changing your mind or that you'll accept my help."

Jellybean's smile grew, even though she knew her friend couldn't see it. She'd called her friend and blurred out all the events of the last half hour while shivering and sitting on the one bench in the street and had been miserable and almost hysterical but hearing Kath's voice had calmed her down. Kath and Gladys were the only ones who still called her Jellybean, everyone else called her Jo, Jay Jay or JB.

"Thanks, Kath," Jellybean said, relieved that her friend understood, Kath had always been there for Jellybean but she couldn't fix this for her. Only Jellybean could. "I'm going to see him today, I can't keep putting it off, there will never be a perfect time to go so I have to go now. My mother wants me to heal? Well, I can only do that by fixing things with Jughead."

"What about your dad?" Kath asked worried, Jellybean had told her all about her drunken father and what he'd done.

"I don't have to see him," Jellybean answered, not having thought about it all. "I can just meet Jughead at his school or after and we won't tell FP I'm even there. I could stay in a motel or something and FP would never know."

Jellybean said, making it up as she went, she really didn't have much of a plan. Kath didn't seem very convinced of this nonexistent plan either.

"Ok but what about your mom then?" Kath asked carefully, not wanting to upset Jellybean again after what Kath had been told about Gladys and the events of the recent phone call.

Jellybean's plan fell apart at her feet, her excited smile faded. What about her mother? She couldn't just disappear and abandon her mom, it would break her. Besides, Jellybean was sick of abandoning people,

"I'll ask her." Jellybean said, "I'll ask her if I can go with Jughead and I'll tell her I'll stay away from the drunk that is my father." Jellybean took a deep breath. "If she says no, or maybe later like she always does. I'll go. I'll get the first bus going to Riverdale and I'll go."

"I know better than to try and change your mind," Kath said defeated but Jellybean could still hear the smile in her voice, "But I wish you the best of luck Jellybean Jones, I hope you fix this but, come back to me. Unharmed. Okay?"

Jellybean said she would, and wished she could hug her friend tightly.

"This plan of yours is absurd and rushed but I hope you find what you're looking for," Kath said, her voice a little higher than normal. Jellybean had never seen Kath emotional, Kath was the tough girl who always wore sneakers and didn't take any shit from anybody.

"No need to worry about me Kath, I'll be back soon. I could never leave you here alone. I'll always come back."

And with that, they said their goodbyes and Jellybean pocketed her phone and took a deep breath. She ran back home, her high ponytail swaying backwards and forwards as she made her way back home, no, not home, the trailer wasn't home. Riverdale was home.

She opened the trailer door slowly and peered inside. Everything was quiet, the trailer dark, it was as if the phone call never even happened. She entered the house quietly, not sure what to do.

"Mom," she called out and entered the living room, finding her mother inside, sitting on the sofa, her head in her hands but no longer crying.

"Jellybean?" Gladys asked surprised, looking up at Jellybean with tear-stained cheeks. Not believing her daughter had returned so soon. She then looked down as Jellybean began to approach her, not meeting Jellybean's eyes.

"Mom?" Jellybean said again, the tears springing into her eyes. All of this was bringing her back to a few years when they'd just left home and her mother had refused to look at her because she looked too much like her father. She'd inherited her father's strong jaw, wide forehead and had the same dark eyes, unlike her mother's blue ones. Jellybean had a pretty appearance, looking quite a bit older than she was but ever since moving, she'd hated all the features she'd inherited from her dad and how much it had hurt her mother. And that was the very thing she couldn't admit to anyone, not even Kath.

"Mom. Please let me see Jughead. I need to see him." Jellybean begged her mother but Gladys just shook her head.

"I can't go back to that place Jellybean, I can't." She said exhausted.

Jellybean wished her mother would look her in the eyes and see her. Really see her.

"Look at me mom, look at me." Her mother finally lifted her head and looked at her.

"Look at me mom," Jellybean repeated, "I'm broken, and Jughead and dad aren't keeping me from healing, you are. You need to let me see Jughead, you need to let me heal. You've given me so much but you can't replace him and I'm sick of acting like they didn't exist or like they're dead."

Her mom just kept shaking her head.

"Then drop me off!" Jellybean shouted desperately, "Drop me off an hour outside Riverdale if you want and I'll walk! Just please, let me see my brother again, let me go." She was sobbing again, sobbing because her mother didn't even react, she just looked at her with an expressionless face like she had for months before. Jellybean thought that the worst that could happen was that they would fight and that her mom would lock her in her room, this was much worse. Her mother didn't even care.

"Goodbye mom," Jellybean said, her voice breaking and went to her room, half hoping her mother would stop her. But she didn't. Jellybean entered her room and wondered when she would be back. She packed her messenger bag, filling it with clothes, all the money she owned and other necessities. Blankets in case she couldn't find a place to crash for the night. There wasn't much else left to bring. When she and her mom had left, her mom had grabbed one bag and that was it. They'd lived with her grandma for a while until her mother had saved enough for the trailer. She looked around her pink and white room, the only furniture her bed, wardrobe and desk with chair, the walls covered in her posters and picture of herself and Kath. It looked as if she hadn't had a life before moving here, as if she'd just poofed into existence.

She left her room, leaving a small note on her bed for her mother saying she was sorry and would be back. She couldn't get herself to write anything more. She swept her eyes over the trailer once more, her hand on the door knob. Granted, it hadn't been much, but it had been good enough for her for the last few years but not anymore.

She held her bag close and left the trailer, closing the door behind her and started her walk to the bus station. Wondering if her mother would even notice that she'd left, she thought back to her note, maybe she should have written to her mom that she loved her. Jellybean shook off the thought and kept walking. She'd crossed the park when another thought occurred to her. She had to say goodbye to Kath.

Veronica looked up at the clock nervously, what if something had happened to Betty? Maybe that's why Jughead was missing. She shouldn't have lied to Alice, she should have told the truth and reported Betty missing. She shook off the thought and returned her attention to the class. Mrs. Brunskin had started taking attendance.

"Quiet everyone," She said to her noisy class as people began taking their seats and conversation stopped. She waited for the room to be completely silent before going down her list.

"Adam Arrowsmith,"

"Here"

"Archie Andrews"

"Here"

"Theo Beaker"

"Present"

"Betty Cooper"

She was answered with silence as she read out Betty's name. She didn't look up from her sheet as she repeated Betty's name but there still came no answer. Betty Cooper, for the first time ever, was absent. The teacher looked up from her sheet to confirm the very unlikely event. She looked to Veronica for an explanation,

"Where is Ms. Cooper, Ms. Lodge?"

She asked, almost accusingly.

"Sick Mrs., she just left a few minutes ago, I'm sure her mother will call in to confirm."

Mrs. Brunskin nodded and marked Betty as absent. She continued down her list, halting again at Jughead's name after she was once again greeted with silence after calling his name. And she once again turned to Veronica. Why was everyone turning to her for explanations as to the whereabouts of her friends all of a sudden?

"Also sick," she said, and realizing how lame of an excuse that was added, "And went with Betty to take care of her."

A whistle came from a few students in the classroom, Veronica rolled her eyes. The teacher simply shook her head in disapproval and started her class.

"Hey, 20 bucks that they're just gonna bang all day long."

A boy in the seat behind Veronica's whispered to his neighbour.

"With Betty Cooper? No way. She probably just wants him for book club or her newspaper or something." His friend whispered back.

The other one answered him, shaking his head,

"Nah. Didn't you hear what happened to Chuck, or at least what she was wearing? She's naughty like her sister."

The other one sniggered,

"Yeah okay, but still no bet, you have no way of knowing whether they're doing it or not."

"Archie lives next door to her doesn't he? Just ask him to peek through the window or listen real carefully."

The two boys laughed, thinking they were so clever, funny and cool but Veronica had enough of it. Her hands had clenched into fists listening to those pigs talk but she knew throwing a punch or starting a fight wouldn't help anyone. It hadn't with Reggie and wouldn't know. She unclenched her fists and turned to the two assholes behind her.

"Hey douches," she said in a lowered voice, staring them down intensely, "Remember what else happened to Chuck? She almost drowned his pervy ass and got him kicked off the team. I can tell you, I was there. And unless you want the same happening to you, and Betty coming after your pig asses, I'd shut up."

The two looked between them, taken aback but obviously enjoying the attention. Veronica turned around but before she did she added half over her shoulder,

"And FWI, she probably is getting it with Jughead, unlike you douchebags who will never get laid."

Now the two boys were seriously pissed but had nothing to say to that. Veronica swore she heard someone clap and she turned away and paid attention to the class.

Jellybean sprinted her way to school, determined to get there before classes started. She finally arrived after 20 minutes of solid running and for the first time she could really appreciate how truly handy her shitty school bus had been. She took a breather at the school gate before running inside, her bag bagging into her leg uncomfortably. She sighed in relief at the sight of many others still making their way to the main building. She wasn't too late. She ran down the halls to where she knew Kath would be, where she always was at this time. Jellybean took a sharp left and raced down the left wing, dogging other students as she went and passing class room after class room. Many of the students didn't even notice her or paid her any heed. She flipped off the Prefect who told her off for running in the hallways and she ran passed.

Finally she reached the school garden and right under the olive tree, like every day, sat Kath, reading her book peacefully with no one else around. Any other time of day this place would have been crowded but no one came here this early expect for Kath and Jellybean. It was their special little place and with no one else around, they could pretend it was theirs and theirs alone.

"Kath." Jellybean called, still breathing heavily, standing a few feet away from Kath, just looking at her, at the most wonderful and happy person in the world. Kath rose and, even though they'd seen each other only yesterday and had talked over the phone not half an hour ago, ran into her arms. Jellybean gripped her tightly and the two stood there in the middle of the empty garden under the branches of the large tree. Kath rested her head on Jellybean's shoulder, reminding Jellybean how much sorter she was then her friend. Neither said anything until they eventually pulled away.

"I guess you didn't change your mind huh," Kath said half smiling, nodding towards Jellybean's bulging messenger bag.

"No, I'm going now but I had to see you first, God, I'm going to miss you," Jellybean said, smiling sadly.

"Well, I didn't think you would change your mind but that doesn't mean I'm going to miss you any less," Kath said, then after a pause added, "Idiot."

Jellybean smiled at their little habit,

"Moron," she whispered back like she always would whenever she called her idiot. But before Jellybean really realized what she was doing or even thought about it, she kissed her. She leaned forward and kissed her, there was no hesitation and no regret. They kissed long enough for her to know Kath didn't mind and had kissed her back. The two pulled away smiling but very unsure about what all of this meant. Kath took Jellybean's hand in hers and played with the ring on Jellybean's left hand.

"Since this is our second kiss." Kath said shyly, "Does that make you my girlfriend?"

Kath asked unsurely, not because she was embarrassed or ashamed, just because she'd never done this before. She just wanted to make sure she and Jellybean where on the same page and that it wasn't like their last kiss.

Jellybean smiled at her girlfriend, the one who'd been there since the day she'd arrived, who'd listened to her stories and all about her father and brother. And in return, Jellybean had listened to her. The last and first time they'd kissed they had both shrugged it off as "too weird" and had never spoken of it again. That had been Jellybean's first kiss and she wouldn't trade it for the world. Not anymore.

"Yes, yes it does," Jellybean said smiling before kissing her friend one last goodbye and letting go of her hand. She whispered goodbye and turned away, her eyes starting to fill up with tears again. She looked over her shoulder once and found Kath looking back at her with tears of her own and a small smile on her face. They were so lost in each other neither of them noticed the figure walking away, smiling smugly to herself and pocketing her phone that now held some very heated pictures of the two girls that she had no intention of deleting or not sharing with her school newspaper.

"Aren't you a little young to be getting a one-way drive to Riverdale by yourself?"

The woman behind the ticket office counter asked after Jellybean had placed the money for her ticket on the counter. She had no idea how to answer that question. It probably looked exactly like what it was, a 14-year-old running from home. So Jellybean told the truth.

"Just visiting some family, don't know when I'll be back."

The woman behind the counter nodded, handing Jellybean her ticket.

"Just be careful dear."

The woman said as Jellybean nodded her thanks.

Not much later the bus arrived and she took a deep breath and got on, sitting right in front, putting her earbuds in and getting comfortable for the two-hour drive. The music was blasting in her ears without her hearing it. What was her plan?


	3. Coming home

* * *

Jellybean watched as the bus drove through the town she'd called home for such a long time. Passing all her favourite places where she'd made so many memories. She wondered when she would see them again, if she could ever live here with her mother again like she had before. Weird how one phone call can turn your whole life upside down. Soon the houses and familiar places Jellybean could see out of the window became unknown and strange. Until eventually they reached the highway and she could see nothing but an occasional bush or tree. She was really doing it.

Just going, no plan, only enough money to last her maximum a week and no guaranteed bed for the night.

Jellybean kept herself busy thinking about her and Jughead's reunion and listening to music. She wondered what they would say, what they would talk about, whether they would recognise or even like each other. She wondered if he'd changed much, probably not.

He'd still be in high school, she knew that much, and they'd called every now and then so they weren't complete strangers, but it dawned on her how little she knew about him. He probably didn't know too much about her either. Her style of music hadn't changed and she guessed he hadn't either. She wondered if he still wore his usual shades of black and grey, she still wore pink only now it was a mix of black and pink. She wondered if he was still friends with Archie and the blonde….Whatever her name was. She wished she'd taken a little more interest in her brother's social life. She wondered about the thing that bothered her the most, was he happy?

She herself had had many happy days but also many sad ones. Many days she'd wondered why she should even bother getting out of bed. Did he have them too?

And so, for the next few hours, Jellybean thought about and prepared herself for the best and the worst. Coming up with many things to say in different scenarios but nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.

The bus came to a screeching halt and Jellybean shot awake. She looked around her, disorientated. There were hardly any other people on the bus and the bus driver was staring at her through the mirror above his head. She quickly picked her stuff together and checked the notice board in the bus, and there it read, in big red letters, Riverdale.

She was home. Or near to anyway.

She thanked the driver and stepped down from the bus, and took in her surrounding. It was an old bus station and it felt like it was frozen in time, looking exactly like it did when Jellybean and her mother had left town. She'd cried and screamed as her mother had clutched her tight, almost dragging her onto the bus. That had been 5 years ago and the memory became fainter and she sometimes wondered if she'd just made up the whole thing. That the whole day hadn't really gone as she'd remembered it, and what she thought she knew was nothing but a fake memory.

She took a deep breath and tried to make sense of where she was and where she had to go.

The bus she'd taken was already turned around and had started heading back to the main road, stuttering as it went. She watched it leave, almost tempted to run after it and go back but she knew she couldn't. She looked away and started walking, heading for the town's centre. She checked her phone, the screen read 9:05 and low battery. She sighed and pocketed it again, she couldn't remember much of the streets she'd last walked when she was 8. And was trying to make some sense of it. She knew she was on the Northside and the town's crossing was near.

She just had to find it. She had to get to Riverdale high. So she began her search.

* * *

Just outside Riverdale Archie's new car was driving back to its home. Betty and Jughead had both agreed they couldn't hide or run away forever and decided to return to Riverdale. And because neither of them particularly cared, they drove straight to school and Jughead parked it right along next to the other student's cars. They entered the school, finding the halls completely deserted, Betty wondered what people had thought happened to them. They walked hand in hand, just roaming the halls. Jughead had taken the extra shirt from his locker and as Jughead changed Betty checked her phone which she'd just found in the bottom of the bag she'd packed in a rush this morning. She winced at the 12 missed calls from her mom and decided she would deal with that later. It was already 10:10, just five more minutes until the bell rang. Once Jughead returned they'd decided they would go back to class next and would wait for the bell to ring.

For the lack of nothing better to do, Jughead pulled out his phone and played some music.

Betty was surprised to hear what was coming out of his phone speaker. It wasn't his usual imagine dragons, 21 pilots, guns and roses, Kansas or fall out boy but something completely different. She looked at him, head slightly tilted and a suspicious look on her face, he simply smiled as the song kept playing.

_And the blood will dry…_

He pocketed his phone but the song was just as loud, echoing through the empty halls as Betty listened to the lyrics, wondering what the singer had felt when they'd written it.

_Underneath my nails…_

Had they felt as lost as she and Jughead had? Or had they finally found their hope.

_And the wind will rise up to fill my sails…_

Jughead suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her, she looked up at him, confused once again, but didn't get the chance to say anything as he pulled her in for a dance.

_So you can doubt…_

She wasn't sure what he was doing until he put his hand around her waist and started to sway to the music, she smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

_And you can hate…_

He held her close to him as they moved to the gentle rhythm of the song, their hands entwined and he moved them up to almost beside their heads as her other arm moved to rest on his.

_But I know, no matter what it takes…_

Jughead suddenly pulled away, letting go of her waist, smiling, their hands still entwined and spun her around as the chorus began.

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home…_

He pulled her back to him as she laughed, not expecting the sudden turn of events or in fact, that Jughead had any interest in dancing.

_Tell the world I'm coming home…_

They moved to the music together, guiding each other, dancing with the little amount of footwork they knew.

_Let the rain, Wash away..._

And they did. They let all their problems wash away. They laughed as they danced and spun each other.

_All the pain of yesterday..._

The pain of yesterday was behind them and could only bother them is they let it.

_I know my kingdom awaits…_

Jellybean knew where her home was. She had always known it and had tried to deny it.

_And they've forgiven my mistakes..._

And she knew it wasn't her fault for leaving. It had never been her decision.

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home…_

But it had been her decision to come home. And she really was, she was on her way home. To her brother, to her old life.

_Tell the world I'm coming…_

She wanted to scream it to the world. She wanted to shout it out to the void. She was on her way home.

_Still far away, From where I belong…_

And maybe she would never go back to the facade of a life the last half decade had been.

_But it's always darkest, Before the dawn…_

Jughead had spent most of his life thinking that quote to be ridiculous and that the darkness was unending, that sometimes, there was just darkness. But, as he and Betty danced, smiling and breathing heavily he believed the dawn had finally come. And he just had to open his eyes to see it.

_So you can doubt, And you can hate…_

Betty knew she and Jughead were living in a bubble and that one day, it would pop but for now, the bubble was perfect.

_But I know..._

Veronica wondered if Betty's disappearance had anything to do with their rocky relationship. She really had to fix it before they really blew apart.

_No matter what it takes…_

She just had to. B and V were a team.

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home_

And just because he could, Jughead put his hands on her waist and pushed her up and spun her around, praying he wouldn't drop her.

_Tell the world I'm coming home…_

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she realised what he was doing. She laughed and Jughead laughed back nervously before putting her down again.

_Let the rain, Wash away…_

They looked each other in the eyes, their foreheads and noses touching and breathing unsteadily. When the bell rang, they closed their eyes, laughing but groaning and pulled away. Jughead smiled a small smile as he turned his phone off and took her hand and pulled her along as the halls started filling with students.

Jellybean grunted in frustration, she'd been wandering around for the last 20 minutes, walking in circles or ending up in the middle of nowhere and she still hadn't found it. She was so tempted to give up and sit on a curb or find a cafe or something and wait for Jughead after school. But that was hours away, so she kept going. Until eventually the block building that was Riverdale high came into view and Jellybean's gut clenched nervously. She remembered how nervous Jughead had been on his first day, Jellybean had never gotten the chance to go here. Now it was her turn.


	4. Silver beanie

Chapter 4: Silver beanie

She approached the school and walked up the steps before entered through the doors. She looked around and it really was just like any other basic high school Jellybean had ever seen. Halls filled with lockers, the school's logo stuck to the white floor, everything in blue and white. She was walking down the hall, taking everything in when suddenly the bell rang, causing her to jump in shock. Almost instantly the halls started filling with students, pooling out of classrooms. She moved to let students pass, and watched little clusters of girls and guys pass her by, not seeing her. Suddenly a girl walked right into her, shoulder first but before Jellybean could retord a 'watch yourself' the girl apologised.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Said the brunette who hadn't looked where she was going, too lost in thought. She stopped as she looked up at Jellybean, an expression of confusion crossing her face and Jellybean panicked. Did you stranger recognise her?

"I'm sorry, are you new?"

She asked kindly. Jellybean nodded,

"Yeah, first day." She said nervously and the brunette nodded and smiled,

"Thought so. It's a small town and I'm sure I would have remembered seeing you."

Veronica said kindly, meaning it as a compliment. Jellybean smiled, glad that the first person she'd met here was nice to her, despite the brunette before her being a few years older than Jellybean.

"Oh I'm Veronica by the way," She said, extending her hand, Jellybean was surprised at the old-fashioned gesture but shook it happily, she could tell she was a girl of class with her tight, appropriate length purple skirt and pearls.

"JB," Jellybean said, not wanting to have to start her first day known as the weird kid named Jellybean. Especially not to a sophomore like Veronica, or whatever class she was in.

"Or Jo," Jellybean added with a shrug, "Take your pic,"

"Okay, Jo, nice to meet you. Do you know where you're going?"

"I was hoping to see the headmaster or something like that," Jellybean said, following through with the scraps of a plan she had.

Veronica nodded and gave her some directions, Jellybean thanked her and made her way to the headmaster's office. Veronica watched her go, wondering why she was here and why she had an odd familiarity to her. Veronica shrugged and turned around, heading for her class.

Jellybean managed to find the office easily enough and by the time she knocked on the door the halls had been cleared of all students.

"Come in." came a gruff voice from inside, Jellybean took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, entering cautiously.

"Yes!" He said commandingly, looking up from a stack of papers.

"Hi, I'm Jellybean or Forthysia Jones, I'm Jughead or Forthys's Jones's sister and I was wondering whether I could join school here for a few days." She said as calmly and casually as she could, handing him her ID which she'd fished out of her messenger bag before entering.

"Do you have a guardian nearby to whom I could talk to about the matter?"

He asked, approaching the subject carefully, clearly knowing of Jellybean's situation. She wished he didn't.

"Yeah, my dad." Jellybean said, trying not to show how nervous she was, "FP Jones." She added, not sure why.

"Ok great. I'll give him a call then."

The headmaster began, handing Jellybean back her ID before Jellybean interrupted him.

"I'd like to tell him myself, I want it to be a nice surprise," Jellybean said, trying for an excited smile as she pocketed her ID. He thought for a moment before nodding,

"Ok, I'll allow it due to your particular situation." Jellybean held in the urge to roll her eyes. "But I expect a phone call by the end of the day." He warned her and she nodded quickly, no idea how she would get that phone call.

"What grade are you in?" He asked, looking up at her with his hands entwined and thumbs rolling.

"Ninth, I'm a freshman."

"OK…" He said as he started looking for something, "For now, how about you join your class in…." He rifled through a drawer and found the paper he was looking for, his eyes ran over it quickly as he spoke, "In Homeroom 7B I believe?"

He said and handed her the sheet, she read as he explained.

"You'll be accompanied by other freshman and if there's a problem, whatever that may be, we will find you another homeroom."

Jellybean looked up from the sheet and thanked him before leaving the room, sighing in relief. She didn't even look to see what class she had before running down the halls. She hoped she could catch Jughead before class started but as she ran on she realised she was too late and the halls were empty of all students.

"Oh well," she said out loud, standing in the centre of the school. She looked at her timetable and made her way to her next class.

She knocked on the art room's door and walked in, to her surprise it had only taken her five minutes to find it. It was a small classroom, the walls and floor were white and spotless but everything else was absolutely covered in paint. There were stacks and stacks of paint piled up on top of each other and leaning against the walls. A handful of students working on paintings of their own, balanced on easels amongst the mess of paintings, paints and pallets.

"Hey," I said to the nearest girl apologetically, she looked up from her painting with an annoyed look.

"Sorry to bother you," Jellybean said, knowing how annoyed she would be if someone disturbed her while she was painting. "I'm new, where's the teacher? What does she want us to do?"

The girl turned back to her painting and spoke as she dipped her paintbrush in more paint.

"She's not here. She's rarely here, she sometimes comes and shows us some techniques but for the rest, we're free to do what we want. Most ditch but not us," She said and looked away from her painting long enough to nod to the kids in the classroom, all working on their own paintings.

"It's up to you," She said and didn't say anything more. Jellybean waited just to make sure the redhead didn't have anything else to say but she clearly didn't, so Jellybean walked away.

She was kinda cute actually, Jellybean thought to herself before taking up the girl's advice and doing whatever she wanted to do. She picked up the nearest pallet she could find, which was, coincidentally the one she stepped on, then squirted on some paint from tubes and bottles lying around, took an empty canvas and sat by the nearest free easel. And got to work. She didn't feel like thinking, so she didn't. She just threw her brush onto the canvas and moved it, about five seconds in she knew she was painting a face but she didn't know who. She painted it yellow, red, greens, blue and finally grey. She painted fast and with broad movement, every now and then puffing or blowing her hair out of her face, her purple streak especially, which was constantly falling in her eyes. She looked at the painting, really looked at it and knew who she was painting. She was painting Jughead, or at least what she remembered of him. She painted his face like how she'd seen it in pictures and the little snippets of him she still remembered. Her brush strokes became less hurried and not as fast and she painted the details of his crusted lips and smiling eyes. She painted the silver beanie she'd given him for his birthday, wondering what had happened to it, whether he still had it after 5 years.

"Oh wow, good job." Came a voice from behind Jellybean and she jumped, snapping out of the trance that she fell in whenever she painted. She looked over her shoulder and up to whoever had given the compliment and recognized the speaker as the cute girl from earlier.

"Thank you," Jellybean said smiling up at her, pleased with her work. The girl smiled back pleasantly,

"You're welcome," The mysterious girl said, a painting under her arm. And as she walked away, Jellybean noticed how every piece of clothing she was wearing was covered in paint, shoes included. Leaving Jellybean to wonder how it had gotten there and where she was going. Suddenly the bell rang and Jellybean looked up in surprise.

The fuck?

She thought and checked her phone, her eyes bulging in surprise.

Holy shit. She'd been sitting here for the last 45 minutes, it was already 10:15. She cleared the small area where she'd worked quickly, and following the stranger's example and carried her painting under her arm, praying it wouldn't smug and making sure it wouldn't touch anything. She was about to leave when a boy from behind an easel said,

"Don't bother taking it. Just leave it here, nobody would touch it anyway."

Jellybean turned to face him but couldn't see anything but brown curls sticking up from above his canvas.

"But she…" Jellybean began, pointing with her thumb behind her where the redhead had just exited before he interrupted her, not looking up from whatever he was painting.

"She's weird," the boy concluded and Jellybean left her painting in the classroom. And left, continuing her hunt for Jughead, it was break anyway.

Veronica sat at their usual table outside, since the weather was nice enough. She plopped down next to Archie and listened to Toni and Cheryl who sat on the other side of the table where Betty and Jughead usually sat, Kevin awkwardly perched at the end of the bench next to Toni, a noticeable space between them.

"And then," Toni said, continuing her story, Kevin listening intently, "He walked right up to her and sa…" She didn't get any further because Cheryl interrupted her.

"Look who decided to show up." She said, looking off to something behind Archie and Veronica's head, Toni looked annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of her story but looked over too. Archie and Veronica turned in their seat and saw what Cheryl was looking at. Betty and Jughead were walking towards them, hand in hand, talking softly to each other, not a care in the world. Veronica's mouth tightened at the sight of them, Cheryl laughed humorlessly.

"Told you so," She said and smugly took a sip from her drink. Veronica looked away from the couple and turned back to the table, pissed. All her guilt and overthinking had been for nothing.

"Nice of you two to show up."

Veronica said as the two came within earshot, not facing them as she continued eating.

"Yeah sorry about that," Betty said, taking a seat next to Veronica, Jughead sitting opposite her in the free spot next to Cheryl. Cheryl looked a little disgusted but didn't say anything, holding back a witty comment.

"Did my mom call?" Betty asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Yeah, she did. I told her you were here and she told me to tell you to call her and everyone else I told you were sick at home and Jughead was taking care of you."

Veronica said rapidly, still angry. Betty looked a little ashamed but smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Veronica, I'm sorry I didn't call. With everything else going on in this town, I should have called."

B and V weren't on the best terms but they still cared about each other and while more distant, and against each other in the election, they were still close friends. But no longer best friends. Jughead and Archie on the other hand, with the whole chained to the school thing, they hardly talked anymore.

"Where were you guys?" Archie asked as Jughead picked at Archie's fries. "And where's my car?"

"It's in the parking lot, it's fine. Unscratched." Jughead said, ignoring the first question and threw him the keys which Archie caught with ease.

"Where were you?" Toni asked Betty, more importantly. The couple shared a look.

"We drove about an hour outside town at like 6 am and stayed there for a bit."

Betty said, not lying but keeping out many details. Her friends filled in the blanks without a problem. Kevin wiggled his eyebrows at Betty which she decided to ignore. Before the situation got too awkward Veronica called out,

"Hey look. There's the new kid."

She said, noticing Jellybean standing at the exit of the school block. Everyone looked up to see who the new girl was.

Jellybean had looked almost everywhere Jughead could have been, the cantine, by the lockers, the writer's room, the library, the hallways, not the bathrooms of course, and hadn't seen anyone that could even remotely be Jughead. She'd decided to go outside to see if he was there and was planning on checking the playing fields afterwards, but doubted he would be there. Her eyes ran over the tables spread out across the area, she'd always thought she'd simply know who her brother was as soon as she saw him. As her eyes ran over the field she noticed the girl she'd met earlier, Veronica waiving her over. She wasn't going to do that awkward thing where she looked around to see if she was calling someone else over so she approached slowly, trying her luck. She walked down the two flights of stairs, clutching her bulging messenger bag close and made her way to Veronica and companies' table which she noted was very crowded. She stood by the table, arms crossed, and since no one offered her a seat, she stood.

"Guys, this is Jo. You're a freshman right?"

Veronica asked and Jellybean nodded.

"Hi," Jellybean said, looking at each of them. It was a very odd group. The red-haired boy was obviously a jock with that jacket and slightly bulging figure. The blonde with the ponytail and pink sweater was obviously the straight A student. The brown-haired boy with jell in his hair and neat clothes was undoubtedly gay. The other redhead was a definite fashionista and judging by the way she was eyeing Jellybean's paint-splattered leggings proved she thought she was better than everyone else. And next to her sat what looked to be her punk girlfriend with very cool pink highlights. And lastly, her eyes fell on the seventh kid at the table, the doom and gloom type. Her eyes lingered on him a little longer then they did on the others and she didn't know why.

"Jo…" Veronica said and Jellybean turned her attention back to her, "This is Archie, Betty…" She started introducing her friends, pointing to each one as she told Jellybean their names. Jellybean was only half listening, her attention back on the gloom and doom one. Her attention snagged on him and she couldn't understand why. Her eyes trailed his face, trying to figure out what caused little bells to ring in her head, he shifted a bit, noticing her stare and suddenly she noticed it. No, it couldn't be. She stared at it and it really was what she thought it was, different and almost unrecognizable but with the same crown-like shape. The beanie. His beanie.


	5. Doom and gloom

Chapter 5: Doom and gloom

"Cheryl, Kevin,..." Veronica kept going but Jellybean couldn't hear her. He was wearing it, the beanie she'd made him a long time ago, he'd worn it so much it wasn't it's silvery colour anymore but a greyish black. It was a much tighter fit than before, no longer almost slipping over his eyes. Her eyes filled with tears and everyone looked up at her, confused, Jughead's uncomfortable expression turning very confused. Veronica had stopped her introduction and looked up at Jellybean worrisomely.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked and Jellybean tried to will her tears away but couldn't.

"Hey, Jughead." She sputtered pathetically. But his expression didn't change. He didn't suddenly recognize her or anything, he just looked more confused. Jellybean felt like crying, this was a horrible idea, she should have called him to say she was coming or told him who she was. Him not recognizing her was much more painful then she'd thought it could ever be. She tried to recognize the brother she once knew, his eyes were much darker then she remembered, less alive or excited and no longer a striking green. His face more square with a more set jaw but definitely still him. He looked at her intensely, trying to recognize her or figure out where she could possibly know him from.

"You know Jughead?" Betty asked, her eyes darting between the two.

"Yeah, you could say that," Jellybean said, wiping her eyes.

And at the sound of the voice, he'd heard all of his life, over the phone and when they were little. Hearing her voice had been the only contact he'd had with her. It all snapped into place. The cute dimples, the wide brown eyes, the high collarbones and yet black hair.

"Jellybean?" Jughead said softly, almost choking on the name, so afraid he was wrong and it wasn't her. And just some freaky, cruel coincidence. His own eyes filled with tears and Betty's mouth fell open, Jughead had clearly told her about Jellybean and their rough history. Archie too realised who 'Jo' really was. The Jones siblings stared at each other, not moving, both taking in all the changes the other had gone through, imagining the experiences that must have gone with them. Jughead stood slowly and walked around the table and approached her, not sure of what to do but he knew one thing. His sister was back.

And with that, he threw his arms around her and held her close. Jellybean couldn't even hug him back or do anything but just let him hold her, she was frozen, her hands covering her face as she cried into him. His chin rested on her head and his eyes closed in an attempt to keep from crying as Jellybean sobbed, soaking his shirt. Betty and Archie smiled at the sight of the reunited pair, the rest of them just looked confused. After a while, the siblings pulled apart and Jughead introduced her to his friends. Properly this time.

"This is Jellybean, my sister." He said, his arm slung around her shoulder and smiling from ear to ear. Jellybean rolled her eyes, so much for not having a ridiculous name.

"Or JB or Jo." She told the group, liking this nickname of her nickname better than her real nickname. If that made any sense.

She vaguely remembered Archie and Betty but not much. They made space for her on the already crowded table and she took a seat between Veronica and Betty. Veronica continued her introduction without interruption this time. Jellybean talked to them about school, sports, music and everything going on in town and everyone's lives. And got into the horrifying story of Jason Blossom's murder. Toni grabbed Cheryl's hand in support as Jughead talked about it briefly, shivers running down Jellybean's spine as he did so.

"Does this stranger really need to know?" Asked Cheryl to the rest of the table, no one answered for a second.

"She's my sister, she's lived here for years. Riverdale's her home" Jughead said, defending Jellybean as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Is it though Jughead? And where has she been for the last five years, huh?" Cheryl said rising. "You don't know, do you? And you don't know who she'll tell. Or who she even is. Five years is a long time. Oh, and while you're at it, stop telling stories that aren't yours to tell." She said and stormed off before anyone could get another word in. Toni picked up hers and Cheryl's stuff and ran after her, smiling apologetically at Jughead but not looking Jellybean in the eye.

"Sorry I asked," Jellybean mumbled and felt a hand on my shoulder, she almost jumped at the unexcepted contact and saw it was Betty's. She held back the urge to pull away, reminding herself these were Jughead's friends and she was being nice.

"It's not your fault but there's been a lot going on the last year and people are dealing with it the best they can. But especially for Cheryl, it will take time."

Betty said and Jellybean nodded, understanding it better than anyone of her age should.

"Wow. I can't imagine that, losing your brother like that and only to found out he was killed by your drug-dealing father. That would destroy me." Jellybean said, looking up at Jughead, he smiled a one-sided sad smile. Suddenly the bell rang and everyone started putting their stuff together.

Crap, she thought, she hadn't gotten the chance to get anything to eat yet.

"Here," Jughead said, sending her pain, "You can have mine," he said and handed her his uneaten sandwich. She smiled at him gratefully and sank her feet into it as she walked to her next class. She checked her time-table, Science was her next class. Jughead read over her shoulder and said,

"I'll walk you, I know where it is."

He offered as Jellybean was about to start hunting for it on her own.

"Great thanks," she said and the sibling walked up the steps side by side.

"Cheryl!" Toni called after her, trying to find her as she ran down the hall.

"Cheryl!" She called again but there was no reply, she ran into the changing room, banging the door open and found Cheryl curled up on the bench and crying. Her arms wrapped around her knees, pulled close to her chest and shoulders shaking. Toni looked at her sadly and approached her, she wasn't good at consoling people but for Cheryl, she could damn well try.

"Hey Cheryl," she said as she sat down in front of her and rubbed her back. "What's wrong?"

Cheryl sniffed loudly and lifted her head, turning her tear stained eyes to her wonderful girlfriend.

"It's just…" Toni wiped the tears off Cheryl's cheeks as she took a shaking breath. "Jughead got his sister back. He might not have gotten the chance to say goodbye but he got her back. I'll never get Jason back, he was supposed to come back. He was supposed to be a great dad, to live a long happy life and be loved by his family. But he never got that. I never got the chance to see him again."

She said and sobbed, Toni pulled Cheryl's arms away from her knees and wrapped them around her instead. Toni pressed her close and Cheryl cried into her. It reminded Toni that, no matter how much time passed, no matter how much closure Cheryl got, the pain would always resurface at some point. Toni swore to herself that she would always be there to help her through it.

Now that Jughead and Jellybean were older Jughead thought they looked much more alike, the same forehead and mouth but different eyes but wow, his sister had changed. Aside from just being older, she had purple highlights and long, long hair, no longer cut to the nape of her neck. She still wore her usual pink but now it was accompanied by black.

"I can't believe you still have that."

Jellybean said, not looking in his eyes. Jughead frowned, not sure what she was talking about.

"The...The Beanie.' Jellybean said, nodding her head towards it.

"Oh right," Jughead said smiling, "I never take it off except to sleep or shower. Or when the occasion really calls for it."

Jellybean smiled, all her nerves disappearing.

"Really?" She asked, wondering if he was exaggerating. He nodded,

"All day every day."

"Why?" Jellybean asked, wondering if maybe that was all he had left of her.

"Because you made it for me." He said, his smile dimming a little. "It was the last birthday party I ever had as a family, it reminds me that I've survived us falling apart and that I could survive everything else if I could survive that. I also just wear out of habit and all the memories it carries. And something to remember you by."

He smiled at her and she was so happy to be reunited with her brother she wanted to hold him tight and never let go. They kept walking side by side amongst the rush of students when a question occurred to Jughead.

"Don't get me wrong Jellybean, I think it's great you're here but...Why are you here?" Jughead asked, it had bugged him ever since seeing her. Jellybean wasn't sure what to say.

"I….I um, well..." She scratched her head, "I heard mom on the phone with F...Dad." Jellybean corrected herself, hoping Jughead hadn't noticed. "They were fighting and it...it just made me realise how much I needed to come home again. I even asked mom but she didn't even put up a fight. She just...Didn't care. So I packed my bag and left."

Jughead took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly and didn't let go.

"I'm glad you did. But you should talk to mom." Jughead said and swallowed hard. "Is...Is she okay? I mean...Really?"

He asked, not sure whether he was ready for the truth. She never let her kids see her pain, the only Jughead had really seen it was when she'd left. He'd looked back and had suddenly realised all the pain she must have felt that went right over her kid's heads. Jellybean's heart broke at the pain and longing she saw in his eyes. He missed his mother, whether he admitted it or not.

Jellybean should tell him she was fine, to ease his mind and take off some of the weight on his shoulders. But she couldn't lie to him.

"No Jughead. Not really. She's hurting. Badly. And the phone call...didn't help."

Jughead nodded and closed his eyes for a second before answering.

"I know...I heard, from my side."

Jellybean squeezed his hand comfortingly as he had hers. Like he'd always comforted her when they were little. How he'd wrapped her into his chest like a little cocoon and sung to her as their parents shouting rang through the walls. Jughead had always been there for Jellybean, it was her turn to return the favour and be there for him. The two siblings smiled the same small smile at each other in mutual agreement that they would be there for the other. Jellybean let go of his hand after one last squeeze as her bag was slipping off her shoulder.

"Well Jughead, since I haven't seen you in such a long time, I think, as the youngest, that it is my right to ask you brother dearest." She said with a slight British accent which Jughead laughed at, it was that terrible, Jellybean stuck her tongue out at him and continued. "Are you seeing anybody?"

Jellybean asked, lightening the mood and trying to figure out, who exactly, Jughead was. He rolled his eyes at the question.

"I don't see you for five years sis and your first question is whether I'm dating anyone?" He asked with a smirk.

"Just shut up and answer the question," Jellybean said jokingly and Jughead continued, giving in to his sister's curiosity.

"I am," Jughead said and Jellybean almost shrieked,

"Oh, I knew it. I just knew it. Puberty did you good brother dear!" Jellybean said laughing and Jughead joined her half-heartedly. This wasn't like old times, there wasn't any deja vu in this moment. They didn't talk to each other the way they did when they were kids, the siblings were found a new and treated each other a new. And neither of them minded it. The new them was just as perfect as the old them.

"So…Who's the lucky girl that has to deal with your doom and gloom?"

Jellybean asked, teasing him. Jughead put on a fake pout before pointing out,

"You already asked a question. Now it's my turn!" He said,

"Says who?" Asked Jellybean, her arms crossed,

"I do," Jughead said. "And being the oldest means my word is law." He continued smugly and Jellybean raised an eyebrow at him. (something he, unfortunately, couldn't do.)

"Is there…" Jughead began his question, "Any guy unluckily enough to be caught in your web?"

Jellybean's smile faded a little. If she told him, would he accept her for it? Should she shrug it off and say nobody?


	6. Serpent princess

Chapter 6: Serpent Princess

(As always, enjoy.)

She shook off her doubt, if they wanted to connect like siblings did they would have to tell each other the truth He would tell her anything no matter what she'd think so she would return that favour.

"Well it only happened this morning but I like her a lot and we've been the closest of friends for the last few years."

To Jellybean's delight, he didn't bat an eyelid at the notion that Jellybean was bi.

"What's she like?" Jughead asked, genuinely interested. Jellybean could have hugged him for the quick acceptance of who she was. As much as she loved him for asking after Kath it was her turn to ask a question.

"Uh-uh-uh," she said, "My turn." She didn't have to even think about her question, "Who are you dating?"

Jughead wasn't even slightly surprised at the question and didn't pretend to be.

"It's Betty. Betty Cooper, the blonde girl with the ponytail that you met earlier."

Jellybean's jaw dropped in fake surprise.

"Way to go Jughead!"

She said, hitting his shoulder softly, he smiled shyly.

"Yeah thanks, I like her a lot. And before you ask another question, what's your girlfriend like?"

Jellybean smiled, thinking of Kath.

"She's amazing. She's tough but in a kind way and is really nice despite everything she says being sassy and dripping with sarcasm. She has pink highlights matching mine," Jellybean said, showing him her, "And a little star tattoo she's had since she was three. She loves reading….She's just amazing." Jellybean finished, noticing she was rambling. Jughead smiled, glad to hear his sister had someone, someone to love and talk to.

"What about Betty? How did the straight-A student get with the doom and gloom that is Jughead Jones."

Jughead smiled at the memory.

"First of, that was two question but….It's a funny story." He scratching his head before turning more serious. "It was the weirdest thing. Jason Blossom's murder drove us together. We investigated and solved it together and between my dad being arrested and her sister's pregnancy we somehow found each other. Weird how tragedies bring people together in the best possible ways. The clarity in the storm, the love in the chaos."

He said and Jellybean smiled, looking sideways at her brother, seeing something different in him.

"You're quite the poet Jughead." She complimented him and he shrugged.

"I'm more of a writer. I'm writing a novel about this town and all its secrets and sins."

He said mysteriously, sending chills down Jellybean's back.

The two siblings were subconsciously walking as slowly as they could, delaying having to part.

"What's your passion?" Jughead asked and Jellybean took a minute to think about it.

"Uh. It's a mix. I love painting but also music."

"What instrument?" He asked, interested.

"Guitar."

"Oh cool, like Archie." Jughead said, "Acoustic or electric?" He asked, the one thing he knew about guitars.

"Electric." Jellybean smiled smugly.

"Nice!" Jughead said, impressed and proud of his sister for following her dreams and was about to tell her so when something occurred to him.

"Oh, where are you going to stay?" He asked, almost excitedly, Jellybean was about to reply when a bunch of 8 something students stopped before them. Jellybean's knew exactly what type of people they were, bullies, gang members and roughians who'd probably be wearing their gang clothes were they allowed to. They were all dressed in dark colour, standing tall, feet apart, smirking. Jellybean balled her fists and glared up at them, she was pretty short but would stand up to them were they to try and pick on her or her brother. Their apparent leader spoke,

"Hey, Jughead. Where were you man?" He asked in a rough but friendly tone, which surprised Jellybean but Jughead's response was the last thing she'd ever expected.

"'Sup Sweet Pea? Just had to get out of town for a bit. You didn't cause any trouble in my absence did you?" He asked jokingly and Jellybean stared at his tone.

"Betty was absent to for that reason I'm guessing." He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Jughead smiled, giving his 'friend' a 'really-Sweet Pea?' look. Sweet Pea laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"Way to go Jones." He and a couple others said, Jellybean recognized Toni in the crowd of misfits, rolling her eyes. Jughead shook his head, smiling at Sweet Pea's goofiness.

Sweet Pea noticed Jellybean as she shuffled her feet anxiously, not sure what was going on or what to do. He looked at her curiously and Jughead introduced her.

"This is Jellybean or JB Jones. My sister."

He said, introducing her to his friends. They all looked at her in surprise except for Toni, they had all clearly been unbeknownst to her existence. She smiled awkwardly as they looked her over and whispered to one another, looking for any resemblance she had to Jughead or FP.

"Guys, cut it out," Jughead said seriously but not sternly. They did what he said without a second thought. Perhaps he was their leader, not Sweet Pea Jellybean thought but shook it off. Not even wanting to imagine it.

"Looks like we've got a Serpent princess on our hands."

Sweet Pea said and Jughead glared at him, a dark, vicious glare Jellybean had no idea he could ever have been capable of. He stood between Sweet Pea and his sister as he said,

"I'm serious Sweet Pea, cut it out."

He repeated, staring the much taller boy down before he broke eye contact and pushed passed them, Jellybean close behind, a few more of them looking her up and down as she passed through.

"What the hell was that?" Jellybean asked once they were far enough so Jughead's 'friends' couldn't hear.

"What?" Jughead asked. Not sure what part of the whole ordeal she was referring to.

"Are they your friends?" She asked, slightly horrified. How could he possibly have friends like Archie and Veronica and a girlfriend like Betty as well as people like Sweet Pea? How had he gone from being friends with the perfect girl next door to the wrong crowd?

"Yes. Something like that." Jughead said, not knowing how to explain it and Jellybean raised her arms in disbelief.

"What does that even mean?" She asked desperately. They'd come to a stop, not that anyone noticed, the hall was completely cleared of all students.

"It's complicated," Jughead said frustrated and angry, not wanting to get into it.

"I've got time." Crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Waiting.

"No, you don't," Jughead said, pointing down the hall to her awaiting class. Avoiding the question.

"Ok fine. But answer me this. What did they mean when Sweet Pea said Serpent princess?"

Jellybean said and felt the word familiar on her tongue. Serpent. Where had she heard that before? All she knew is that the word filled her with fear and something else. Dread?

"I think you should get to class."

Jughead said, his hands on his hips, discussion closed. Jellybean looked hurt and Jughead swore at himself, he'd seen his sister for 20 minutes after 5 years of separation and had already managed to hurt her. Jellybean pressed her lips together and nodded, walking past Jughead without another word as he looked down ashamed. He knew he had to tell her, about their dad, the Serpents, everything. But he didn't know how.

Veronica watched as the two siblings walked away in opposite directions.

"Odd, don't you think?" She said to Betty, "The day you and Jughead skip the morning she comes here. His sister, out of nowhere, arrived just before you came back."

Betty shrugged,

"Just a coincidence." She said, not quite believing it.

"Riverdale isn't a town of coincidences," Veronica said and Betty couldn't help but agree. But perhaps Jellybean had just heard the same phone call as Jughead, Betty thought to herself. She felt so happy for Jughead, knowing how much she meant to him but she couldn't help feel a slight sense of deja vu. She'd brought Chic back and had been a first-hand witness to what that has led to. She prayed she was just being paranoid and this wasn't history repeating itself in its own twisted way.


	7. Monster's hide

Chapter 7: Monster's hide

(Here it is, as promised. I will try to upload on Thursdays and Mondays but I might not always manage both. Anyway, as always, Enjoy.)

Jellybean was pissed. She sat in Science and spun her pen furiously between her fingers, annoying the students around her. She probably should be trying to make friends, not pissing people off on her first right now she couldn't care less. She sat through the rest of the class, half listening and left as soon as the bell rang. She stormed off in one direction, determined. But stopped when she realised she didn't know what she was doing. She could look for Jughead and press him for answers but she was too angry right now. She was angry because she knew there was something deeply changed in Jughead and she should have been there to stop it.

Jughead was pissed. Pissed that he couldn't talk to Jughead about the Serpents. He knew he should and he wasn't ashamed of being one. Never would he be ashamed again. He just knew she wouldn't approve and he'd have to face disappointing her. She'd looked up to him her whole life, wanting to be like him, he was her big brother and he just couldn't let her down.

"Hey, Jughead. What's wrong? Is it your sister?"

Betty asked from the seat beside him. He'd come into class late and had plopped down in the seat beside her and had sat with his head down for the rest of the class.

He nodded in answer to her question and pulled his beanie down his forehead a little.

"We bumped into Sweet Pea and the other Serpents. He called her a Serpent princess and I couldn't...I just couldn't tell her about being a Serpent and how she has a given membership and how I followed our father's footsteps. And how she might too. It's her choice of course and I would never suggest it to her but still. It's a slippery slope."

Betty thought for a moment before answering in a whisper,

"Tell her about joining the Serpents. Don't leave it for her to find out from the wrong person. Tell her. Tell her everything."

She said, knowing it wasn't going to be easy. Jughead nodded, already knowing that was the only way. But with no idea what was coming.

She didn't know what she was going to do about Jughead but for now, she would just go to class like a normal person. Like the normal students of Riverdale High did. She scoffed, Normal. Normal didn't exist in a town like this. Terrible things didn't happen like this. Terrible things didn't happen to normal people. Only to the messed up, the broken, the sinners, the innocent. But never to the normal.

She kept walking when suddenly Toni appeared before her and Jellybean blinked at the flash of a camera.

"Hey!"

Jughead said annoyed and Toni put her camera down.

"Sorry. Just wanted a picture of Jughead's sister who mysteriously returned. Mind if it goes in the school paper?"

She asked, snapping another picture. Jellybean shrugged,

"I don't care."

She said with a frown and Toni put her camera down.

"Hey, is this about the whole Serpent thing? Sorry about Sweet Pea, he literally has no filter."

She said smiling, the name ringing in Jellybean's head. Serpents. Serpent. Serpent.

"But we really are cool, once you get to know us."

Toni finished and smiled before turning around and walking away, leaving Jellybean more confused than ever.

Jellybean didn't see Jughead again for the rest of the day but she knew she would have to at some point because she had no idea where she was going to stay for the night. She'd scavenged the place for a nice, hidden spot she could crash for the night. So far the janitor closet was her best option.

As the last bell rang Jellybean picked up her stuff and left her class.

"So...how was your first day?"

Someone asked, coming up beside Jellybean, causing her to jump. She smiled as she recognised her as the cute girl from art.

"Decent."

She answered her question with a shrug.

"Sounds about right."

The stranger said before suddenly remembering something.

"Oh right, before I forget."

She said and pulled out a painting from under her arm, clutching the remaining four close to her.

"I believe this is yours..."

She said and handed Jellybean her painting. Jellybean thanked her and had another look at it. She looked at her painting of Jughead and the longer she looked at it she noticed her mistakes and how he'd changed. It didn't really look like him anymore. She realised the nose was out of proportion and his eyes weren't as big as she remembered. The redhead noticed Jellybean's displeased look,

"Hey, I think it's great."

She said and Jellybean looked up from her painting.

"Yeah thanks, I thought so too but now..."

She rolled up the painting and stuck it in her messenger bag, most of it sticking out.

"Now that I've seen him again after 5 years, it doesn't fit anymore. And it's out of proportion."

The redhead nodded understandingly,

"Memory is deceiving. Time even more so. But still It's a good painting, you should keep it. As a reminder of what you remembered of him."

Jellybean nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I think I just might," she said and the redhead smiled, pleased with herself for helping the new girl when something suddenly occurred to her.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind but I was looking at your painting earlier. Is that the kid from the blue and gold?"

She asked and Jellybean looked at her in confusion. What was the blue and gold? Seeing her confused expression the redhead continued,

"You know. The Serpent one."

She said and Jellybean heart stopped. She stumbled backwards, causing the other girl's smile to fall and be replaced with a look of confusion. No, she had to be wrong Jellybean thought. It had to be someone else, there must be another boy who could match the face in her painting. Who was she kidding? Of course, there wasn't.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

The redhead asked concerned. Jellybean just stared at her, still wide-eyed, the world seemed to be closing into her, spiralling closer and closer together until it would crush her. Her breathing turned ragged and she did it again, what she always did when things got too hard. She ran. She stumbled back another step before breaking into a full sprint. Leaving the redhead to stare after her in surprise and feeling guilty. Had she said something?

Jellybean ran down the corridor and out the exit, squeezing passed students, looking for Jughead. She just had to find him. Had to ask him if it was true. Had to hear him laugh it off and call her silly for ever thinking it. Had to see if the mysterious redhead was right. The name once again ringing through her bones.

Serpents. Serpents. Serpents.

She didn't know what to think or do. She didn't even know why it bothered her that he was 'a Serpent.' But what did it mean?

Fear pooled in her gut at the thought that it might be a gang. Something much bigger than a group of High School friends. What had he gotten himself into? She feared the answer. Knowing it wasn't good.

She ran down the steps and into the parking lot, her eyes searching for his black beanie frantically. She had to catch him before he left. Her heart stopped again as she spotted him.

There he was, in the middle of the parking lot standing in a spot clustered with motorbikes. He had his back to her and couldn't see her from where she stood, frozen where she stood. He was leaning against a motorbike, a black motorcycle helmet under his arm and was talking to Betty Cooper who stood before him with a pink helmet of her own tucked under her arm, smiling down at him.

And there it was, staring at Jellybean menacingly, a green Serpent. It covering his back on his newly dawned leather jacket. She felt like falling to her knees as the sight of the twisted Serpent that brought back memories in painful flashes. She saw the jacket flung over a chair at home, saw her mother screaming at FP as she held the jacket up at him in disgust. She remembered FP coming home drunk out of his mind wearing that jacket. She remembered how she'd learned to fear it, that, as an eight-year-old, her father was a monster to her when he wore it, how she'd feared him but as soon as he took it off or wasn't wearing it, she thought he was her father again. That he loved and was fixing his family.

She would always sigh in relief when she saw him without it and every, fucking, time she believed he would never put it on again. And time after time he did. Time after time she had to see him as the monster he was, the drunk, the murdering, haunted, broken monster he was. Time after time part of her broke as she saw him day after day wearing it. As time, after time he chose the Serpents over his family, over her.

But right this moment, the thing that upset her the most was that Sweet Pea had been right. She was a Serpent princess. In it by blood.

She convinced herself that it was her choice but was it? Had it been Jughead's choice? Would Jughead willingly join a gang that had destroyed their, her, family?

All those thoughts ran through her head as she watched him talking carelessly to Betty. She cursed herself for being such an idiot. That after she'd bumped into his gang and heard Toni's comment she still hadn't managed to put two and two together. She hadn't been able to figure out who Jughead was until someone had said it to her face. And still, she hadn't fully believed it.

It took seeing him in his jacket for her to realise who he was, how much had changed, how little she'd been there for him and how far off the rails he'd spun. Jellybean moved towards the happy couple, feeling numb and like she was in a trance. Betty tipped her head back, laughing at something Jughead had said and as she looked back down to Jughead she noticed Jellybean and her smile fell.

"Jughead?" Jellybean asked, sounding like an eight-year-old, Jughead turned around as his name left her lips, staring intently into her eyes. Jellybean's head filled with all the filthy insults she wanted to spit at him but she couldn't voice them. She couldn't voice her pain, anger and confusion. She just clenched her jaw and before Jughead could say anything, she walked away. Jughead knew he had to go after her and explain, but what could he possibly say? He'd prepared a few sentences in his head but seeing the pain in her eyes they all escaped him and seemed stupid, sounding like nothing but excuses. He got up and ran after her, grabbing her hand from behind.

"Jughead please…"

Jellybean said, pulling her hand away,

"Go away."

She whispered and his hope crumbled, there was no way she would ever forgive him.

"I'll go." Jughead said, respecting her wishes, "I get you don't want to talk right now but please. When you're ready, hear me out."

He said but she still didn't turn around, there was a long silence before she finally replied,

"Okay."

She whispered softly and walked away. Jughead watched her and sighed, it was more than he could have hoped for in this situation but it still stung. Only a handful of people accepted him and he prayed that she would too. He wasn't sure what he'd do if she didn't. He walked back to Betty who was waiting for him on his motorbike, she looked at him sadly. Hating that he had to go through this all over again with his sister. How he always had to fight for people to accept him. She approached him and cupped his cheek with her hand,

"It'll be okay, give it time."

She said and he nodded, grateful for her support and leaned further into her hand. She smiled at him before pulling away and pulling her helmet over her head, the newly painted on white crown shimmering under the bright glare of the sun. Jughead sighed and pulled on his own helmet, a matching crown scratched on his. He got on and Betty got on behind him, burying her face in the leather of his jacket as they sped out of the school's parking lot. And as Jughead lost himself in the speed of his motorbike and felt Betty hold on to him tighter than she'd ever done before he thought back to Jellybean, a single tear sliding down his cheek, unseen by anyone as it evaporates in the cushion inside his helmet.

Jellybean walked back into the school block and wandered around the empty halls without a destination in mind, determined not to cry. But as the flashbacks kept hitting her over and over again she couldn't help it. A sob broke free from her body and she stumbled, her hand slamming into a locker to keep her balance. But as the sobs kept breaking free from her she couldn't hold herself up and her hand slid down the locker. She let herself fall back into the locker, her back hitting it hard as she sobbed. She slid down the locker and fell to the floor, curling into a ball. She was so sick of the pain, of the people she loved being strangers, so sick of how lonely she was, so sick of being punched down over and over again, so sick of not being able to pick herself up again. She was sick of letting people down and her mistakes ruining people's life.

She was so fucking sick of crying.

Her sobs began to subside only the occasional hiccup breaking her even breathing as she calmed herself. Suddenly her phone rang, the sound unwelcome and too loud and urgent. She sighed, wiping her eyes and fishing her phone out of her bag. She sighed in relief at the sight of Kath's lopsided grin and happy eyes staring up at her as she opened her phone. She hit accept and brought the phone to her ear, pressing it close as she was desperate for the sound of Kath's voice.

"Hey, Kath,"

She whispered softly, afraid if she spoke any louder Kath would know of the tears she'd cried.

"Jellybean."

Kath said and Jellybean head snapped up at the desperation her tone, what was wrong? What had happened?

"Kath?"

Jellybean asked in concern, stumbling to her feet, suddenly on full alert, not sure what to do or what she could do from here. Was it her mother? Had she gone off the rails? Was everyone okay?

"Kath, what's wrong?"

She asked and held her breath as she heard Kath take in a shuddering breath.

"Jellybean it's…."


	8. Lover's secret kiss

Chapter 8: Lover's secret kiss

(Enjoy)

Jellybean it's...I don't know how to tell you this but...Remember at school when you came and said goodbye and we kissed? Well... Alexandria saw."

Kath began shaking and Jellybean was relieved that it wasn't about her mother but wondered why Kath was so upset.

"And she took pictures."

Kath said and a short silence fell, Jellybean wasn't thrilled to hear about the idea that Alexandria had pictures of their moment but she didn't really care. Why was Kath so triggered by it? Did she regret it?

"Ok…"

Jellybean said, not sure what else today or what her girlfriend wanted her to say.

"She posted them. Everywhere. All over social media, the school paper, the school website. Everyone knows."

Jellybean swore inwardly. Just great, now everyone was involved in her love life. She didn't mind people knowing but not like this. Like it was some scandal.

"They all have similar headlines, 'Jellybean's disappearance explained', 'Goodbye kiss between secret lovers', 'Best friend facade falls', 'Long time best friends drawn to Romance in time of tragedy', the list just goes on."

Kath rambled shakingly. Jellybean knew she had to say something but she waited in case there was more to the story.

"Jellybean say something," Kath said desperately after a long pause, Jellybean took a deep, nervous breath.

"Honestly, Kath, I don't care. I don't care that people know we kissed, no it's not perfect and yes, this staying between just us for a little longer would have been better but that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you. They can think what they want, run their investigations, spread the rumours. But we know what really happened. And I wouldn't take that kiss or calling you my girlfriend back for the world."

Jellybean said truthfully and Kath sniffed,

"I am glad to hear you say that but Jellybean I don't know what to do. I feel like everyone's judging me, watching my every move. I'm all alone here, please help me, please Jellybean, come home. Come back."

Kath said sadly and pleadingly, curling herself up against her locker. Jellybean's bottom lip trembled at the tone. She didn't have the heart to tell Kath that Riverdale was her home, not Toledo. She didn't know how to tell her that she couldn't leave, that she couldn't come back yet.

"Kath, there's something I need to fix here first and I'll tell you all about it later but I can't go now," Jellybean said, feeling like she'd betrayed Kath. "But I'll come soon, I'll be back before the week's over. I swear."

Jellybean said and it was a promise she was determined to keep.

"I was there for you when no one else was for the last five years, I listened to each and every one of your stories about your fucked up life. For five years." Kath fumed, "And now you can't be there when I need you, for one day. Thanks a lot."

Kath said annoyed and hurt. Jellybean knew she was right. After all, Kath had done for Jellybean, it was the least she could do in return. Kath needed her after 5 years of Jellybean needing Kath. She bit her lips to stop them from trembling and neither of them exchanged a word for a long time.

"I'm sorry Kath, I'll do what I can from here but I can't go back yet. I'll only be a week at the most."

Jellybean said feebly and Kath abruptly hung up without another word. Jellybean stared at her reflexion in the dark screen of her phone as the picture of Kath smiling disappeared. She sighed and put her phone away. Too much was going on and she was going to snap. She needed a distraction, she could paint some more but she was too tired. She felt like the phone call had sucked the last of the energy out of her and it suddenly hit her how tired she was. The whole day she'd been functioning on non-existent sleep because she woke up so early and now it had finally caught up with her.

She made her way down the corridor, slentering at a slow pace, heading back to the janitor closet and after making sure nobody else was around she entered it. She pulled the blankets she'd packed from her bag and made herself a makeshift bed. She shattered her stuff across the small room and fell into the bed. The room was too dark, her bag too hard to be a good pillow and the room was filled with a constant soft hum of a radiator but still….It was better than nothing. Once she got used to the noise and made herself as comfortable as she could she fell asleep almost instantly. Completely clueless to the fact that not that long ago, another Jones had slept here too.

She slept restlessly, not used to sleeping during the day and the events of the past day haunting her. And so did the nightmares. She got about two hours of sleep before she gave up and left the small room, her nightmare still echoing in the back of her mind.

She'd kept seeing a serpent, just like the one embroidered onto Jughead's jacket slid towards her. Only this time 10 times bigger in size and very much alive, hissing loudly, its blood-red tongue flicking in and out on its fanged mouth. In her dream she'd walked backwards, slowing trying to get away from it without it pouncing her. She'd taken another step when suddenly she'd felt her back press against an invisible wall, she'd closed her eyes in terror, knowing she was trapped. When she'd opened her eyes again she'd seen her father and brother wrapped up in its impossibly long body. Its snake body curling around their waist multiple times and they weren't trying to fight it, it was all like something out of The Jungle Book. Her mother's bones were being crushed beneath its long body as it kept approaching her, coming closer and closer. It's jaw opening slowly and suddenly it struck, it's wide open mouth and jutting fangs the last thing she'd seen before she'd gasped as she awoke, shivering and her forehead slick with sweat. She shook off the feeling as she kept walking down the hall, not wanting to think about it any longer.

Jughead paced before the trailer, knowing he would find his dad inside, reading or watching TV. He walked up the steps to the door but just before opening it he changed his mind again. What was he going to say? He seemed to be asking himself that a lot recently. But he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and wait for his dad to find out from someone else.

"Here goes nothing."

He said aloud and before he could change his mind he entered the musty trailer.

"Dad?"

He called out and heard FP grunt in response,

"Kitchen,"

He said and Jughead walked further into the trailer. Before Jughead could say a word FP began talking,

"I'm sorry boy, I hadn't meant for you to hear that. But you did. And I'm sorry Jughead, I failed."

FP looked up into his son's eyes from the kitchen, the counter the only thing between them. Jughead looked at his father and saw him for who he was, a broken man who'd lost everything. Jughead took a deep breath before uttering the words that might just mend his father's blistered heart that he was so careful to never show.

"She's here dad, Jellybean came home."

Jughead said and FP straightened up in surprise, a smile breaking over her face, one full with hope and joy, not his usual smirk or kind smile.

"Where is she?"

FP asked, turning concerned as he didn't see her with her brother. Jughead scratched his head underneath his beanie.

"I'm not sure…" He began before his father interrupted him with his booming voice.

"What do you mean you're not sure!? You haven't seen her in five years and you've already lost her. Again."

Jughead flinched at the painful memory that flashed behind his eyes. He swallowed, not because of his father's tone but because there was a truth to it, he felt like he's already lost her all over again.

"She's…" Jughead began to explain sadly, "She found out about me being a Serpent and she...She wouldn't even look me in the eyes. She told me to leave and so I did. Last I saw her she was right after school, she might still be there or maybe she went to Pop's or something."

FP sighed, feeling sorry for the poor boy standing in front of him. It sometimes hit him how young his son was. Now was one of those moments.

"You better pray she is," FP said and exited the kitchen, grabbing his jacket off the hook as he walked out the door. Leaving it open for him to follow him out. Jughead sighed and followed him out,

"Dad. I don't think it's a good idea for her to see you. Not yet anyway."

He said hesitantly, watching FP get on his bike, making no move to get on his own bike. "You can't tell me what to do son. I haven't seen her in five years either."

"And who's fault is that?"

Jughead snapped back, the pain that flashed for a millisecond made him feel like he'd just kicked a man already down. But it was the truth. The hard, unforgiving, painful truth. And he wasn't going to apologize for it.

"She completely freaked seeing me in my jacket, imagine how she'll react to seeing you in one. Knowing that after half her family had packed their bags and left, After you lost everything, you still hadn't learnt from your mistakes and hadn't shed your skin that cost you absolutely everything."

Jughead drilled on, walking towards his father slowly, pointing an accusing finger.

"You better shut your mouth," FP snapped, "You know just as well as I do that I can't do that. And you were the one to follow in my destructive footsteps, not me. Now, you can do what you want but I'm going to see my daughter."

FP said determined and signalled the end of the discussion by starting the bike's engine loudly.

"Good luck with that," Jughead said just as the bike sped forward. Jughead watched the road a little longer, wondering whether his father could bring Jellybean home or drive her further away, wondering if she could forgive him. He, of course, had no way of knowing that Jellybean was closer to him than his dad was that instant, having walked out of the school half an hour ago. He sighed and was about to get on his own bike and lose himself in the long road leading all the way to Greendale but changed his mind. He walked back inside the house instead and called Betty.

After trailing around the school for a couple minutes Jellybean had grown very bored and decided to look around town. She remembered a couple of landmarks but the memories were vague. It all seemed a lot darker than she remembered, less fantasy like and more like it was just another town. But with dark secrets.

Over the course of the day a couple of students had come up to her, introducing themselves, asking the usual questions like where she was from, and some had told her all about Jason's Blossom's murder and the black hood. This place seemed to be a magnet for trouble and all things bad. She kept walking, her thoughts running wild with no music to block them out. As soon as her phone call with Kath had ended the last off the battery had given up and it was well and truly dead. She'd packed up all her stuff and was once again carrying it all in her messenger bag, just in case someone came back to the janitor closet. Or if she didn't. She felt really guilty for not grabbing the first bus back to Kath but she really couldn't go. It wouldn't be fair for her and Jughead were she to leave so soon. But it wasn't fair on Kath either.

She shook off the feeling and tried to cleanse her head of all thought, letting her feet and gut lead her. She hummed to herself and only stopped when she noticed the gravel of the road beneath her feet turn more and more to dirt and grass as she kept walking. She looked up from her feet and found herself in the last place she could possibly imagine herself going to right now. She froze and looked around her, it all looked the same and she knew she was close, close to the trailer park she called home.


	9. Stained pink walls

Chapter 9: Stained pink walls

She could have turned around, found something else to pass the time with but she wanted to see it. To see her house with it's tiny fenced off little garden with the one chipped gnome, with its small kitchen that used to be always filled with the smell of cookie dough, her pink, perfect for an eight-year-old bedroom. She wondered if it still looked the same, if all she'd left behind that belonged to her was still there. Just where she'd left them, not a speck of dust on them. Like time itself had frozen and was waiting to start again when she came back.

Were the walls still pink or had they been painted over? Did someone else sleep there now?

She took a deep breath and entered, walking underneath the ancient, rusty sign saying 'Welcome to Southside Trailer Park.' It was the same rusty sign she'd walked under every day as a kid.

She kept walking, treading down the familiar path, passing trailer after trailer, not having to look for the right number to know which one was her's. She walked passed the last trailer before her old home came into view. She took a deep breath as she could see more and more of the familiar house. The gnome was gone and the paint a little dirtier but apart from that it looked the same. She stared at it in awe, five years and nothing much had changed. She stared at the house she'd grown up in, that contained the best and worst of her childhood memories. That contained the memory of being dragged out by her mother, getting ready for the first day of school, her father stumbling in drunk, her and Jughead's water fights and fits of laughter, the smoke of her mother's cigarette being carried off in the wind, playing cards together as a family, her tears falling silently to the cold floor, cooking together, the breaking of glass, the curse words, the broken framed pictures and countless others. Good and bad, bad and good, until only the bad was left. Her parents constant fighting, beer bottles and cigarette buts pilling up, laughter turning foreign to its small walls.

Jellybean shook of the flood of memory and emotions and jogged up the handful of steps that lead to the door like she had a million times before. She knocked three short knocks and waited for a response. Not sure what to expect.

Would FP answer or Jughead? Maybe even someone else. Maybe FP had a girlfriend or even a wife. She tried not to think about it, it wouldn't be fair that after all those years he'd managed to move on but her mother hadn't. She knew she was little to completely unprepared to who would open the door but she couldn't imagine anything like who opened the door halfway with a creak.

It was a little boy.

Maybe 6 in age, his thumb in his mouth and staring up at her shily but expectantly. She took a step back at the sight of the child, wide-eyed.

No, it couldn't be. He couldn't possibly have had another kid. Maybe he was distant family or just visiting, maybe Jughead was babysitting or...or…

An angry voice from behind the door shook Jellybean from her thoughts,

"Jeremy! What have I told you about that door!"

Said a woman as she walked into view and picked up the child, setting it on her hip before turning to Jellybean with a kind smile.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

She asked Jellybean kindly and a little surprised. Especially at Jellybean age, and she clearly wasn't here to sell cookies. Not that any teen would ever come here to do that.

"Sorry to bother you," Jellybean said awkwardly, "I'm looking for FP. FP Jones."

Jellybean asked, almost afraid the young woman would say that he was inside, that her face would light up at the mention of his name, that he would come over and put his arm around her. Instead, the woman held her child a little tighter to her protectively without realizing she was doing it. Jellybean noted the action with a grown.

"He...He lives just down there at number 15. He hasn't lived here in years."

The woman said and Jellybean stepped back in surprise but recovered quickly, thanking the woman for her time and walking back down the steps in a daze. She cursed herself for not considering that FP had moved but it seemed he never got further than a few feet. Never even out of the trailer park. As she started to walk toward the address the woman had given her, she looked over her shoulder at the house and resisted the urge to sprint back and barge inside, let her feet feel the familiar halls, to run into her room even if it was completely different, even if it looked different with a different smell, even if another's toys scattered the floor, she just wanted to see it again. As she turned her head forward again to the path ahead she realised how wrong she had been. Time hadn't stopped, time had sped forward, leaving her in the dust. Time had Left her to a home that wasn't hers and a family she no longer knew.

As she reached the house with the number 15 that Jughead now called home she wondered when they'd left their old trailer. Was it days or years later? Why had they moved? The trailer was a lot less nice than the one she'd lived in. Looking more like one big, white block then the cosy house the trailer behind her was with its bluish grey paint. She knocked on the unfamiliar hard door twice and this time a familiar face greeted her.

"Oh, hi," Betty said pleasantly, not expecting Jellybean at all. She'd just been sitting on the sofa, reading, having only arrived here about 20 minutes ago. At the sound of the knock, she'd thought it might have been Jughead and her heart had fluttered in delight. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed at the sight of Jellybean but she pleased to see Jellybean had come, she wondered if she came for a pleasant visit or not. Jellybean was more than a little surprised at the sight of Betty but at least she knew she had the right house. Her appearance was even more surprising. Betty wore her hair up the same way she had in school only a little loser but the thing that stood out the most was the black leather jacket she wore. Jellybean recognized it as the same jacket Jughead had worn earlier on, only she wore it zipped up and the hand that hadn't opened the door stuffed in its pocket.

"Hi." Jellybean replied and Betty stepped back to let her in, "Come in. I'm sure you must be hungry, I'll check if there's anything lying around."

Betty said, feeling hungry herself and at the mention of food Jellybean's stomach rumbled but she didn't make a move to enter. Reading her mind Betty said,

"You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to. He's not here. And won't be unless you want him to."

Jellybean was grateful for the blonde's understanding and sighed inwardly in relief. But she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed too.

"Oh, okay."

She said and accepted Betty's invitation and walked in. It was small, to say the least, a one-person trailer, not at all like the family trailer they'd previously shared. She looked around, observing the few sofas and one on which she guessed Jughead slept, a small kitchen and a closed door leading to what she guessed was where FP slept. She did a double take at the sight of the fish hanging on the wall but apart from that, it was all very bare apart from the oddly flowery curtains. She let her eyes swoop the small living space once more before turning her gaze back to Betty who walked passed her to the kitchen.

"So where is he?"

Jellybean asked curiously.

"You just missed him, he dropped me off a couple of minutes ago, he's on Serpent business. Nothing very serious I swear."

Betty answered her without missing a beat from the other side of the counter. Jellybean was a little taken aback at how little Betty seemed to care that her boyfriend was in a gang. She wondered when he'd joined. And why? She felt tempted to ask Betty but decided against it. Not sure if the blonde would even answer her. She perched down at the edge of the sofa nearest to her when a question occurred to her.

"How long have they been living here?"

Jellybean asked instead and Betty looked at her sadly and instantly Jellybean knew it wasn't a pleasant story.

"Well, it might not be my place to say, but…" Betty said, breaking eye contact as she looked through the cupboards, "He only really opened up to me about it a few months ago but apparently they moved the week after you left. FP lost a lot of money, and his mind when you two were suddenly gone. He couldn't stand being in the house where his wife and daughter left him. So they moved. It helped, a little, for a while but...but the drinking was FP's real and prefered escape, the moving was for Jughead."

Jellybean looked down sadly and Betty felt sorry for her. She watched her and wondered if Jellybean knew how much she was like Jughead, even with five years of separation. It took a while but Betty had started noticing the similarities. She had the same smile, a small one with teeth peeking out a little, a shy one too. She made the same face he did when she thought deeply, her forehead scrunching up and a deep frown crossing her sharp features. As teenagers, the two were more similar than they had been as kids. Both looking much like their father.

Betty wanted to get to know Jellybean better but a small part of her, which she hated, wanted to drill at Jellybean, scream at her, drill through her, about how she could possibly hurt Jughead and leave him behind, only to come back and hurt him again, looking down at him in disgust.

Jellybean may share some of Jughead's traits but her absence was also a cause for many of Jughead's worst traits. His insecurities, how he sometimes short circuit when someone did something nice for him, how used to pain he was and how damn long it took Betty to get him to trust her with his feelings and to get him to open up to her. How hard their relationship had been because of it. She clenched her fists at how unfair it all was but didn't act upon her thoughts.

"Well, there's nothing here except for a half-eaten apple and a couple of eggs and dried biscuits. So unless you want an apple omelette we should probably get take out or head for Pop's or something."

Betty suggested before her temper got the best of her.

"Pop's?" Jellybean asked curiously.

"Yeah," Betty said as she pulled her shoes on. "Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe."

Jellybean had no idea what Betty was talking about but nodded.

"Okay, let's go. I'm starved."

Jellybean said and got up from her spot on the couch. As she walked towards her Betty noticed the bulging messenger bag hanging by Jellybean's thigh.

"Hey, what's in there?"

Betty asked as she adjusted her ponytail. Jellybean looked at her messenger bag then back up at Betty, a little embarrassed.

"Oh yeah, right. I managed to grab some stuff before taking the first bus here. I've been carrying it around ever since."

Betty looked at her in surprise, the thought of Jellybean having packed hadn't occurred to her.

"Oh, you can leave it here if you want, no one will touch it, they'll think it's mine."

She said, referring to the Jones's men and Jellybean was once again surprised at the causality of the sentence. Was Betty really that welcome here? It gave Jellybean a slight twinge of jealousy she chooses to ignore. Instead, she put on a strained smile and placed her bag under the hanger, hidden from view after pulling out a jacket of her own.

"Can we just make one stop first please?"

Jellybean asked, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Sure."

Betty said with a shrug, wondering what Jellybean wanted to see. Or do. Betty grabbed the keys to the extra bike before opened the door once again and stepped outside, allowing Jellybean to follow after her. She locked the door behind her and stuffed both hands in her pocket.

"Where'd you wanna stop?"

Betty asked, making her way down the steps, her hand brushing against the railing. Jellybean wasn't sure how to answer the question.

"I just want to see it again, the twilight drive in we always went to as kids."

Jellybean said as she followed Betty down the steps. Betty's face fell at the mentioning of the torn down place that held so many memories. She remembered how upset Jughead had been at its closing, she wondered if it meant as much to her as it did to Jughead.

"Hey, Jellybean,"

Betty said, standing still by the third motorbike the Jones's owned. Jellybean looked at her expectedly and a little nervously, noticing the gentle tone.

"The drive-in," Betty continued sadly, "It was sold almost a year ago, torn down for reconstruction. I'm sorry."

Betty said and Jellybean felt her heart sink in her chest.

Going to the drive-in had been one of the last things they'd done together as a family when FP had one of his good days when Mom wasn't working, they'd buy two tickets, Jughead and Jellybean hiding in the boot and watch the movie. A moment of happiness, a break in clouds within a dark, unending storm. Jughead and Jellybean would snuggle closely, taking in as much of it as possible because they both knew that as soon as the credit rolled it would be over. That glorious moment of escape would end.

But as much as Jellybean hated its closing, she wasn't too surprised. Even then, it had been suffering from not enough staff or customers and only a handful of movies. Jellybean and Jughead were even more limited by their age and knew all the dialogue by heart. They sit on the roof together, watching the movie, taking turns saying the characters lines with funny impressions. Sometimes acting out the scenes and collapsing in giggles and fits of laughter at the other's ridiculousness.

Jellybean thought back to those memories before turning back to Betty, a lump in her throat.

"Can I see it?"

Jellybean asked and Betty nodded, understanding the need to see it for herself all too much.

"Let's go."

Betty agreed and got onto the bike, handing Jellybean her pink helmet which hung from the handlebar. Jellybean got on behind her nervously, not very happy with the idea of riding on a motorbike. Maybe Betty and Jughead weren't so opposite after all.

"You know how to ride it?" Jellybean asked nervously as she wrapped her arms around Betty's waist. Betty simply shrugged, getting the spare helmet from the other handle.

"Yeah, pretty well."

"Pretty well?"

Jellybean repeated with slight horror.

"Don't worry. Jughead thought me."

Betty said with a laugh and kicked up the kickstand before starting the engine.

"Lesson one," Betty mused. "Don't go slow."

Jellybean's eyes went wide and Betty pulled on her helmet, an unseen smirk breaking out on her usually smiling face.

Jughead felt his eyes droop as he rode back into town. The Serpents had called him on urgent business and he'd left quickly. Draping his jacket over Betty's shoulder and handing her the keys to his trailer and spare bike with a kiss. She'd looked annoyed at the sudden interruption of their meet-up but let him go with the promise he'd tell her about it afterwards. He'd agreed, feeling guilty because she'd suggested coming here in the first place.

He'd called her about an hour and a half after school just after seeing his dad and had blurted out his conversation with his father, panicking about Jellybean's whereabouts. Betty had told him to calm down and meet her outside her house he'd agreed and rode over quickly. They'd walked down to the river nearby, talking about Jellybean and how he should approach her about being a Serpent and what would happen when FP found her. Betty had grabbed Jughead's hand when it looked like he was going to spiral in his own thoughts and hadn't let go as they kept walking by the water's edge. Soon the conversation had branched off of Jellybean and they'd talked about other things instead. They joked and told each other stories that had never left their lips before and had laughed, as soon as the first laugh came free from Jughead's chest he knew why he had called her. Not only was she his girlfriend and he knew she would listen and try to help him but he would make his laugh effortlessly, carelessly, something which was strangely enough possibly in this twisted, upside down that they lived in. Betty had just started to shiver and pulled down on her sweater sleeves when his phone had rung. He kissed her lingering frown with a small smile before grabbing her hand and jogging back to where he'd left his bike. He handed her her helmet, not bothering to put on his own before speeding down the track back to the road. He dropped her off at his dad's trailer, giving her one last quick peck before heading for the motorway at top speed. Riding to his meeting with the Serpents.

After taking care of the annoying problem that was apparently his problem since he was FP's son or, as Fangs and Sweet Pea called him teasingly, the Serpent Prince he got back onto his bike. But he had to fight off the sleep that threatened to overpower him as he drove back into town. He blinked but apparently not as quick as he'd intended at the sound of a loud honk. His eyes flew open at the sound and he found himself drifting out of his lane. He shook his eyes, trying to rid his head of its sleepy state but he knew that wouldn't fix anything. He'd had a long day, physically and mentally drained he had to stop. He couldn't go any further or he'd get in an accident. He deserved some sleep after today and pulled over as soon as he could, dismounting his bike with a moan which turned into a jawn.

Just five minutes he told himself as he plopped down underneath the nearest tree which didn't look too uncomfortable. He pulled off his boots and put his beanie back on his head, letting it cover half his face before letting sleep take over his body. A mistake he would only realise once he woke up.


	10. Haunting Departures

Chapter 10: Haunting departures

Jughead awoke at the sound of a soft bang, he'd always been very sensitive to noises when he slept, tonight was no different. He got up from his bed, wondering where the noise had come from. He stepped quietly and moved slowly in the darkness of his room, walking around the toys he knew were littered across the rugged floor. He and Jellybean had played on in his room till late into the night. Their mother had told them to each go to their separate beds and go to sleep. He now wondered why she hadn't told him to clean up his toys. He winched quietly as he stepped on a sharp part of a toy as he hopped the last step to the door. He opened it slowly, not wanting to wake up dad in case he got angry again like yesterday. And the day before that. Coming into his room, bottle waving, yelling at Jellybean and him to play quietly, the siblings had flinched back at his voice and had kept playing in absolute silence, not daring to speak a word. Jughead kept walking, wiping the hair away from his face and pulling his beanie up so he could actually see. But as always, it just slid right down again. He kept walking down the narrow hall, his footsteps tapping softly on the wooden floor when he heard crying. He kept listening and identified it as Jellybean's tears. He wondered what was going on. Did Jellybean have another nightmare? Did dad or the nice monster under her bed say something mean? Why was Jellybean sad?

He kept walking towards the sound, not wanting to make a nose but trying to find Jellybean so he could comfort her. He peeked his head around the corner, just in case someone was there and saw Mama close the door behind her as she stepped inside. He looked at her curiously, why was she wearing her coat? Why did she go outside? Where was Jellybean? She looked around like she was trying to find something and Jughead stepped out from his hiding spot.

"Mama?" He asked, scared, not knowing what was going on or where Jellybean was, he suddenly couldn't hear her crying anymore.

She whipping her head to Jughead and approached him swiftly, crossing the room in a few strides.

"Mama, where's Jellybean?" He asked softly, feeling like he was about to cry.

"Hey, Jughead." She said in whispered a sing-song voice, "Shh, Shh. Hush Jughead, you have to be quiet."

His Mama said as she knelt before him, seeing his panicked expression.

"Hey, baby, you need to be quite for Mama. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

She asked and Jughead nodded, she smiled gratefully and grabbed his hands.

"Mama has to take Jellybean somewhere, okay? She's fine, she's just outside waiting for me."

She said to him, tears pooling in her eyes,

"But where Mama, why are you crying? Why is Jellybean crying?" He asked, feeling his own eyes fill with tears, threatening to pool over his chubby cheeks. The fact that mama was crying scared him the most. Suddenly there was a loud bang from her bedroom, causing both of them to jump and Jughead let out a soft whimper.

"Mama needs to go, okay?" His Mama's voice suddenly turned urgent, "You need to be good for me. Be good for Mama." His mama said, hysterical tears streaming down her face, barely visible in the darkness. Jughead tried to wrap his small arms around her to make her feel better, but she pushed him away, keeping him at arm's length.

"Understood?" She asked, almost demandingly and Jughead couldn't do anything but nod. She placed a kiss on jughead's beanie glad forehead, her tears falling into his cheeks, mixing with his own.

"Mama, where are you going?" Jughead managed to mumble between sniffs and streams of tears. His mama didn't answer.

"I'll be back soon baby, I promise. Bye, I love you."

She said crying but trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. She took one more glance at her bedroom door as if expecting a monster to come charging out. She gave her son one last kiss before standing up on shaking legs. She walked over to the door and Jughead's gaze followed her every step of the way. She opened the door and for the few seconds it stood open, Jughead could see pasted his mom and saw Jellybean behind her. She was crying, her hand clasped over her mouth like her mother had told her to so she wouldn't say a word. the two siblings interlocked panicked, crying eyes for a split second before Mama pulled Jellybean away by her hand and pulled her further into the darkness, a suitcase in her other hand as the door closed slowly behind them. There was a faint click which seemed to snap Jughead out of his daze and he ran for the door, trying to pull it open, trying with all his might but it was locked, it wouldn't budge a centimetre. Jughead cried and cried, trying over and over again before giving up and letting himself slide down the door, just sitting there, waiting for his mama to come back. Little did he know he'd be waiting for the next five years and that this very night would be the darkest of all nights, that this night would be the night that plagued his nightmares, sometimes his every thought for years to come. That it was the begging of a long line of torturous loneliness. That he would spend years regretting he hadn't run straight to his dad and gotten the key, that he hadn't screamed, that he'd let them go, that he'd been paralysed in the spot, that he let his family go and had let everything fall apart.

This was the night, that as an 11-year-old he stopped being a child, he wasn't allowed to be one anymore and never could be again. That night was the first night his mama hadn't been there to stop FP's fists, the first night he's tasted his own blood in his mouth and felt the unforgiving strike of a belt.

Jughead gasped as he awoke from his nightmare, Chills running down every inch of his body, his breath coming short, his heart racing faster and faster as he tried to breathe.

No, No, no, no, no, no. No!

This couldn't be happening he thought to himself as panic took every inch of his body, he tried desperately to take in some air but found himself choking on it instead.

No, not again. Not now. Fuck, no.

He couldn't be having another panic attack after years and years of therapy, online tips and forgetting, healing, he couldn't be having another panic attack. The attacks he'd been having had finally stopped but now they were clawing their way back in, along with the memories.

He couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but tremble violently, feeling himself choke. He tried breathing slowly and deeply like he'd done a million times before when had panic attacks but this time was harder than ever, bringing him back to his very first attack.

He wasn't used to it anymore and his nightmare had been nothing more than a long-lost memory resurfacing. A childish phrase ran through his head like it had done so many times before, he bit his lip to keep from saying it out loud, to keep from screaming it. Letting it bound through his head in repeat instead.

Why did you leave me, mama?

He couldn't find his way back, to the present, to breathing, he was stuck in the memory, feeling all those raw emotions all over again. He knew if he stayed in that awful place that where his memories he would drown, he had to get to the surface. But how? He tried to control his thoughts, to think of something positive, to keep the flashes of his nightmare out of his head and found himself thinking of Betty. Yes, Betty, he had to think of Betty, a pure, good memory. He thought back to them at Pop's sitting in a booth together, going to the movies on his birthday together, driving out of Riverdale together, walking by the river together, giving her her birthday present from him, their first kiss. All the good memories ran through his head like they were on a record and he found himself able to breath normal again.

He'd finally managed to calm down and breath properly, finally managed to control his body and thoughts.

He stayed in his spot under the tree long after the nightmare had passed, mentally drained and physically exhausted, he cried and cried with his head in his hands. Even the memories he shared with Betty couldn't push the pain out completely. He cried for the memory that had come back to haunt him after so many years, he cried for the mother he still needed despite denying it for years, he cried over dreams of him suffocated by his own lungs, his own thoughts.

He was happy to see his sister again but he had to admit that it had ripped open a healing wound inside of him and he didn't know if he could survive her leaving again. If he could ever survive anybody ever leaving again. If he could survive to be lonely again.

He suddenly got up from the floor, determined. He was going to make her want to stay, not just pray for it or guilt her into it, he wanted to really make her want to stay. He'd explain to her about being a Serpent and hopefully, she would listen. Maybe even understand. He checked the time, 6:38, he really had only been asleep for 10 minutes. He mounted his bike and started the engine with a lively stutter.

FP grunted in frustration, where the fuck was she? He thought. Jughead was so dead when he next found him. FP had driven to the school and hadn't seen her, he'd dropped down by Pop's and hadn't found her there either. He'd gone into the public library and handy found a single sight of her. He grunted in frustration at the list of places he'd have to go and look for her. And Jughead wasn't picking up his cell. He checked the time, glancing towards his watch for a second. He swore loudly as he turned his head back to the road. He was going to be late for his shift. Without a moment of hesitation, he spun his bike around swiftly into the lane going the opposite way, causing the car behind him to come to a shrieking halt and honk loudly. He swung his middle finger at the car and continued down the road, he'd have to postpone his search, he thought to himself as he sped to Pop's.

Betty and Jellybean rode down the streets of Riverdale, not saying a word as they passed house after house, some people gaped at the sight of the two girls, other's couldn't care less. Soon the houses passed less and less often until woodland came into view. Jellybean kept watching the increasing amount of trees when they suddenly stopped at a clearing. Jellybean looked around her confused, why had they stopped? It took her a moment to realise what she was looking at. She took off her helmet slowly as it dawned on her.

"Is that…?" She uttered in disbelief, already knowing the answer. Before her was nothing but….that was it, nothing. Not even rubble or any slight remains, not as much as a brick or sign indicating what once stood there. Nothing. Nothing but a field of growing grass. As she kept looking she could imagine the big screen at the back, the little snack bar with its bright lights, the projection booth, the cars filling the field. She sat in absolute silence as she looked upon all that remained, just memories and a big empty field. Betty watched it too, removing her own helmet and joining Jellybean's silence, feeling the grip around her waist fall slacken. Betty and Jellybean sat there like that for five minutes when Betty couldn't bear it anymore. She had to say something. Say something to soothe the storm no doubt raging in Jellybean's head.

"He worked here, would play the movies and just sit there behind the projector, watching them play out, mouthing along with the words sometimes, even though he couldn't hear them over the nose of the machines. He...he and his dad stumbled across some bad times, the drive-in was his escape, he would sleep here in a makeshift bed in the projection booth right up until the day it closed, up to the day the bulldozers came. He won't talk about it very much but this place was his home when his house wasn't. He fought hard for this place, the place no one else cared about, pleading for months, with the major, Fred Andrew, with anyone who would listen and had anything to do with it, but he lost. He asked me what we should watch on closing night and he took up my suggestion which was, ironically, rebel without a cause. But he wasn't down there watching the movie like everyone else, he was watching from where he always sat. God, that feels like such a long time ago. Like a whole lifetime ago."

Betty said softly, feeling like if she spoke too loudly she would awaken the past. Jellybean thought about what she'd said and agreed. Five years ago had been a different life for her too, she'd returned to the same place and found it the same as she'd left it. Same houses, same people, same signs, only not quite. Look closer and you could see the changes, the people in the small town were on edge and terrified, homes were tense and incomplete, and people didn't live in the same houses they used to, lies were like nooses around peoples necks, so close to killing them. It was so different from what she'd left behind her. She tried not to think about it too much and sighed audibly.

"Should we go?"

She asked innocently, making sure her voice didn't betray her inner doubts and swirls of emotion. She was filled with the sudden need to get out of this place that used to be so full of joy but had turned into nothing but a hollow, empty place.

Betty nodded and pulled on her helmet, leaning forward, hands gripping the bike's handles. Jellybean followed suit, putting on her helmet and holding on to Betty's waist again. The two took off into town again, the setting sun following them on their way.

Jughead only started driving once he was completely sure the attack had subsided. He wasn't sure what he would do about his reappearing panic attack but for now, he wanted to get a cup of coffee, sit in a comfortable booth at Pop's and write more of his book. He could text Betty once he got there he decided and drove out into the road, joining the traffic with no idea what Pop's would hold, or who.


	11. hashtag Riverdale's lost girl

Chapter 11: hashtag Riverdale's lost girl

Pop's bell rang cheerfully as Betty walked into the diner, leaving the door open for Jellybean to follow after her.

"Wow, nice place."

Jellybean said to Betty as she looked around at the booth's of people, talking, laughing, or sitting in comfortable silence. She often found herself wondering what strangers life stories were, now was one of those moments. It was a really nice place, very '60s with its red booths and round bar stools with silver polished feet. It was all even more beautiful with the setting sun filtering in through the cracks in the red blinds filling the long room with hues of yellow and orange.

"Hey Pop," Betty greeted the man behind the bar as she walked further into the familiar dinner. He looked up from cleaning the bar with a yellow cloth and smiled at her, warm and full of love.

"Well hello Betty," He greeted Betty kindly, "The usual?" He offered and Betty nodded with a wide smile, Jellybean found herself smiling too, his smile contagious.

"And you, young lady?" Pop turned to her but before Jellybean could say a word he continued,

"You must be the young lady no one can stop talking about."

He said, recognizing Jughead's features in her younger face and noticing she fit the description that had been mumbled throughout the diner a hundred times. Jellybean looked up at him in surprise and went to ask him what he was talking about when Pop continued his trail of thought.

"Jughead Jones's sister!"

He exclaimed in a loud excited whisper. A few turned their heads at the mention of the much talked about subject, some were subtle, others not so much and turned completely in their seats. Jellybean turned bright red as people stared and whispers broke out, mostly amongst Riverdale high's students. She quickly took a seat at the bar as to not draw more unwanted attention to herself. Betty took the seat beside her just as a pink milkshake slid her way, topped off with perfectly swirled cream and a red cherry. Betty nodded her thanks to the familiar waiter who's given it to her before taking a long sip, the flavour exploding in her mouth. She didn't have to look up to know that her cousin was approaching them, the familiar klick of her heels evident on Pop's floor. Cheryl took the last remaining empty bar stool next to Jellybean who was still looking down embarrassed.

"Yes Jellybean dearest, everyone knows."

Cheryl said as she glared at a passing waiter, her nails clicking on the bar, her way of ordering her usual. Betty rolled her eyes at her cousin's mocking, smug tone. Jellybean picked it up too and grunted.

"How?"

She asked defeated and Cheryl smiled mischievously,

"Well…" She said before taking a deep breath, "You told me indirectly, I whispered it to Josey, Josey exclaimed it to Valerie, Valerie mentioned it to Reggie, Reggie spat it at Sweet Pea and yeah….that's how. Everyone knows, you're hashtag Riverdale's long-lost girl returned."

Jellybean sighed, feeling like Cheryl was trying to get back at her for something.

"Hey Cheryl," She said carefully, turning to face Cheryl properly. Cheryl seemed a little taken aback by the kind tone, expecting Jellybean to have bitten back.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Jellybean continued, "I should have realised I crossed a line, I'm so sorry for pushing the matter, I should have known better. I know it's not the same, but I would never have opened up about me and my brother relationship with a stranger either."

Jellybean said truthfully, looking right into Cheryl's eyes that suddenly looked so vulnerable and shattered that Jellybean had no idea how she normally hid it. Cheryl breathed deeply and the look suddenly disappeared, being replaced by her usual hard look. She swallowed before answering, her blood red lips set in a straight line.

"You're right," She said after a pause, "It's not the same."

And with those words hanging between them Cheryl got up and left, leaving Jellybean to stare after her as the clicking of her heels became fainter as more distance came between them.

"Don't mind her, my cousin's always on edge and ready to bite." Betty said, "But she's a good person, Toni brings that out in her but around others, she is always on guard, walls up."

"I can see why" Jellybean mumbled and raised her hand to get the attention of the passing waiter. He leaned over the bar, about to take her order when he stopped and looked at her curiously as if trying to place where he knew her from. She almost rolled her eyes at the almost familiar action most of Riverdale's citizen seem to have when looking at her.

"Yes, I'm Jughead's sister," She said before he could ask the expected question that was undoubtedly to come. "And I'd like to get a…."

FP was pissed. He, as usual, had to park his bike around the back of Pop's, get in around the back and change clothes around the back. He grumbled as he grabbed his clothes from off his bike and went inside. From the back.

He didn't mind his job at pop's, didn't even mind the uniform too much and definitely didn't mind Jughead approval or the money he made, however little that may be. But he did mind the looks, the comments exchanged under people's breath or right to his face, the whispers and rumours they discussed about him, false and true ones. That infuriated him. The more he worked here, the more they trusted and warmed up to him, but it still happened.

Jughead rolled his bike into Pop's small parking spot and parked it near the other motorbikes when he noticed a flash of pink. He looked over and recognized it as Betty's biking helmet, he smiled as he studied the white crown he'd painted on it himself, reminding him of when he'd given it to her. He led the memory flood his tired mind as he dismounted his bike.

It was her birthday, the clock having just hit 12 PM when he stepped onto the last step of the ladder, climbing up to her room like he'd done months ago and many times after. He had climbed up the ladder in complete darkness, one hand on the rails and the other clutching her gift under his arm. It was more a joke than it was a serious gift but he really hoped she would like it. He slid open her window as quietly as possible and climbed in through it, landing softly into the cushions that always lay there.

He got to his feet carefully and made his way to her bed. He'd texted her earlier that he'd be there every minute of her birthday. Whether she knew that included 12:01 he didn't know but it did for him. He walked further into the darkness of her room, approaching her sleeping form on the bed and hoped he didn't look too much like a creep for this. He couldn't help grinning in excitement as he finally reached her bed. He sat down on the bed beside her and whispered her name. He could hardly see her in the darkness of the room but could make out the lines of her face and her untied hair fanned out around her sleeping face. He whispered her name again a little louder when she didn't react to his previous call. She stirred in her sleep as he said her name for the third time but didn't wake up. He smiled even wider at her persistence and repeated her name again and again until she woke up groggily. He laughed aloud as she moaned loudly and threw a pillow at him without meeting his gaze or even opening her eyes. He caught it with ease and threw it back at her.

"It's not funny," She said as she turned her face away, laying flat on her stomach and talking into her sheets. The only result being Jughead laughing again.

"'Morning Betts," He said sweetly once he stopped laughing. There was a long silence before Betty huffed and gave into waking up.

"'Morning Juggie." She said and both of them were smiling at each other's given nickname without the other knowing. Betty lay down for a second longer before turning herself around so she was lying on her back and propped herself up on her elbows, wiping her hair away from her face. Jughead waited for her to get comfortable before revealing the nature of his visit,

"Happy birthday Betty," Jughead said and Betty smiled.

"Thank you," She whispered back before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. As she returned to her previous position she felt a cold chill flitter to the room, she looked over at the open window, the source of the coldness and couldn't help smile. Jughead and his dramatic entrances. Noticing that it was still dark outside she turned back to Jughead questioningly.

"What time is it?"

Betty asked and Jughead smirked as he answered smugly,

"12:02."

Betty's mouth fell open at his words, he really was going to be there every second. She rolled her eyes, of course, he was. She couldn't help the grin breaking over her face at the cute gesture.

"Of course it is." She said flatly, voicing her thoughts. She reached over behind her to turn the light on so they could see properly, and as her back was turned Jughead placed the helmet before him.

"Here's your first present," he said as she turned back around to him. Her smile widened as she looked down at the present set before her. She picked it up and inspected it closely, a little surprised and confused. Noticing her expression Jughead suddenly felt very nervous and felt the need to explain,

"Well...I just thought since you ride on with me so much you should probably have a helmet of your own. And there's a spare bike I pulled up and cleaned up a bit just in case, you know….If you want, you could learn to ride it and I...I could like, teach you."

He knew he was rambling on and Betty stopped him with a kiss, smiling against his lips.

"Thank you Jughead, I would like that very much, it's a great present."

Betty said and meant it with every piece of her. Jughead sighed in relief and leaned into her hand as she cupped his face.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Betty asked, as she suddenly sprung out of bed. "Breakfast at Pop's?" She offered as she walked over to her closet.

"It's 12 PM, you've only just gone to bed."

Jughead argued surprised at the sudden turn of events. Betty smiled as she pulled out her birthday sweater.

"Like you said, it's my birthday, let's celebrate it."

She said as she grabbed some more clothes and headed to the bathroom to change.

"Fair enough,"

Jughead called after her as he let himself fall into her bed, lying with his hands behind his head, excited for the day ahead of them.

Jughead shook off the memory that had pulled him out of his panic attack and walked over to Pop's welcoming door. Wondering why she was here.

Betty ordered some fries with her smoothy and as soon as Jellybean placed her order they took a seat in one of the booths looking out over the parking lot at the very end of the diner. The sun was setting quickly, the sky turning twilight as Pop's lights started turning on. The two girls sat opposite each other, getting to know the other. Jellybean really liked Jughead's girlfriend, she was kind but had a heated energy to her, especially when she talked about things she was passionate about like Jughead and journalism. Turns out blue and gold was a school paper.

Betty liked Jughead and it surprised her just how much she and Jughead had in common.

FP was about to walk into the diner to enter his shift, already late when his phone rang. He picked it up quickly, barking his response into the phone in frustration.

"What?"

"Mr Jones, this is Mr Weatherbee speaking, the school's headmaster and I was hoping you would make time to meet me about the small matter of your daughter's return. You are aware of her return aren't you?"

A calm voice came over the phone.

"Yes," FP answered but didn't elaborate.

"When could I meet you concerning your daughter joining our school?" He asked, insistently.

"She's just visiting," FP said in a non answer, partly wishing it weren't true.

"I still think it would be advisable for us to meet." Mr. Weatherbee said, not giving up. FP sighed, not having the time or energy for this.

"Ok fine, I'll drop by tomorrow." FP said and before Mr Weatherbee could argue with him he hung up. He breezed through the kitchen doors and stood behind the counter, white hat and all. He greeted Pop with a polite, respectful nod before taking up orders from whoever sat or stood nearest to him at the bar. Within five minutes he was rushing about from table to table, called over by raised hands and sometimes even by name.

Jughead walked into Pop's and swept his gaze over the almost packed dinner. His eyes swept over their heads, not seeing their faces, he was looking for a familiar blonde ponytail or at least an empty spot. Seeing neither of those he kept walking into the diner when he felt a set of eyes boring into him.

Betty and Jellybean kept talking in hushed voices as more and more people entered the diner, the little silver bell ringing merely in welcome with every new customer. A waiter Betty had seen a hundred times before came with their food. Tim, she thought his name was. He placing the trays of food before the two awaiting girls with a polite,

"There you go, girls. As always, enjoy."

Betty smiled at him in thanks, halting her conversation with Jellybean. Jellybean waited for the waiter to move on to the next table before she continued talking. Betty was listening attentively when her eyes subconsciously drifted over Jellybean's shoulder and took a deep breath at something that had caught her eyes. She panicked because there, just a few booths behind Jellybean stood Jughead Jones. She held her breath as his eyes wandered over the heads in the room. She quickly looked back at Jellybean, breaking her stare and praying he wouldn't come down this way. She wouldn't know what to do if he did. She was pleased to see him back unharmed but she didn't want the two siblings to have to clash this way. Unprepared and in an inescapable situation. Should she tell Jellybean?

"…And I just think that's so amazing, don't you agree?"

Jellybean said excitedly and Betty snapped her attention back to the brunette.

"Yeah absolutely," Betty said with a small and making sure she sounded just as excited and confident as Jellybean did. Because she had no idea what Jellybean was talking about.

FP noticed Jughead enter and look over everyone's heads like he always did. He glared at his son from behind the bar and waited for him to notice, not wanting to make a public scene out of it. Jughead turned his head to his dad in surprise and FP knew he had his attention. Noticing FP's glare Jughead walked over, a sigh on his lips. He plopped down in the free barstool and waited for what FP had to say.

Betty dared to glance up at Jughead again a few minutes later, hoping he wouldn't notice. She quickly let her eyes wandered around the room, looking for him. They finally rested on him and she found him sitting at the bar talking to someone. She couldn't quite see because someone sat beside him, blocking her view. She watched as the teenager who was blocking her view got his milkshake and left his position against the bar. She watched him eagerly, willing him to move faster so she could see who Jughead was talking to. She sipped too hard on her straw causing her to break out laughing as she was revealed to who exactly was at the other end of the bar. FP Jones.

Fuck, she thought, there was no escaping it now.


	12. Broken man

Chapter 12: Broken Man

(As always, enjoy!)

"Why'd you ignore my calls?"

FP asked, scowling at his son as he clicked on the lid of two take away coffees.

"I was called in for Serpent business because you wouldn't pick up. Apparently, I'm second best these days."

FP looked a little surprised, having expected a different excuse. He gritted his teeth.

"And where's your sister? She wasn't at school, she wasn't here when I last stopped by and she isn't at the library either."

FP said annoyed, causing Jughead to look down guiltily,

"I don't know, she isn't picking up her cell either, I don't think she wants me to see her."

Jughead mumbled and FP felt bad for the boy. He shook his head sadly before walking away with the two coffees and a plastered smile to deliver them to an awaiting couple. Jughead didn't look from the bar and sighed. He subconsciously fiddled his thumbs as his mind raced on. He stopped as soon as he noticed the action and looked up to find Pop looking at him. Jughead nodded in sad greeting which Pop returned.

"Hey Jughead, your sister's return hitting you hard?"

He asked and Jughead couldn't help smile a little. Pop always knew what was on everyone's minds.

"Yeah, it is. I'm guessing since you know that half the town does,"

Jughead said and let out a small laugh.

"It's nice seeing her again," Jughead continued, not really talking to Pop anymore. "But it brings back bad memories and she isn't exactly thrilled about this either," Jughead said, gesturing to the Serpent jacket on his back, only to remember it wasn't there. Right, he'd almost forgotten, he'd given it to Betty.

"The Serpents, I mean"

He said sheepishly and was greeted with Pop's laugh,

"I guessed that's where Betty stole her Serpent jacket from."

Jughead laughed at Pop's joking yet knowing tone when a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, since you knew about the jacket, have you seen Betty?"

He asked, looking behind him to see if he could spot the blonde.

"Oh just over there." Pop said and pointed the very back of the diner, Jughead followed the finger and indeed saw Betty, still clad in his leather. His eyes found her mid-laugh, her head tilted back and ponytail swinging, he couldn't hear it but he could imagine the crystal pure laughter that her companion could hear. She was with someone, their back turned to Jughead and he assumed it was Veronica but as he kept looking the more unlike her she looked. He squinted to look closer and decided it definitely wasn't Veronica. Veronica always sat rod straight and her hair was darker, always completely perfect, not one hair out of place. This head of brown hair was lighter and wilder, more windblown and careless, from what Jughead could see of her clothes, she definitely wasn't Veronica, so who was she? The mystery girl moved her hand to wipe a loose strand from her face and tuck behind her ear. Jughead's heart skipped many beats at the colour of the strand. It was bright purple, the same purple strand he saw the girl tuck behind her ear many times today. Betty wasn't talking to Veronica but to Jellybean. Before Jughead could even take his next breath a waiter clad in white approached the table and the world seemed to move in slow-motion as Betty turned her head to the waiter, her eyes widening just like Jughead's did that very instant because the tall, slim man standing by their table was none other than FP, Jughead and Jellybean's father.

"Oh hi Betty, I hadn't seen you earlier you must have entered before my shift started."

FP said politely as he moved on to the next table and noticed Betty sitting there. Betty's eyes widened for a split second before she covered it up with a strained smile. She'd seen him take orders from other tables, making his way closer and closer to them as he went up the line of booths. She'd prayed by some miracle that he would miss this table, that he simply wouldn't see it. Which of course he did.

"Can I get you, girls, anything?"

He said as he finally looked away from Betty to her companion on the other side of the table as he collected their plates. Jellybean had been looking at the menu when the waiter had placed the offer. She looked up to tell him she didn't want anything else and that he could bring the bill when her breath fell short. She hadn't known what she'd expected, maybe the other waiter Tim, maybe a new one but anything but the familiar man who now stood before her. The man who was undoubtedly FP, she stared at him like she was a gazelle caught in headlights. She couldn't afford to freeze so instead she rose from her seat slowly, seeing Betty follow suit from the corner of her eye. She kept looking the confused waiter in the eye as he looked between the two girls, no idea what to do. Betty licked her lips nervously,

"Jellybean?"

She asked her cautiously, needing to know if she was okay, that she was breathing and wasn't about to scream like her expression indicated she might.

"Jellybean?"

FP repeated loudly whipping his head round to the brunette. Betty swore the entire room went silent as green eyes crossed green eyes. As father looked upon his long-lost daughter. Jellybean didn't say a word, didn't jump in for a hug, didn't step forward to slap him either. She just averted her eyes and got out from the booth and walked, right past a shocked FP, leaving a baffled Betty. She didn't look back or say a word, she only had eyes for the door, she simply made her way to the door calmly in her usual walking pace. She opened the door quickly and walked out, closing it behind her with a soft click and just like that she was, once again, gone.

She closed the door behind her and as soon as it did she ran. She ran down the parking lot, about to run out into the footpath and just keep running but she stopped. She hesitated for a split second. Why was she running? Had she really expected to not have to confront FP and Jughead eventually? Should she stay or walk away? She had to talk to them, she wanted to, wanted to fix this, to fix the broken family she'd been born into. She didn't know how and definitely didn't want an audience like Pop's when she did. She took a shuddering breath, just standing in the cold, wrapping her arms around herself. The sun had gone down and Pop's brightly lit sign was the only thing lighting the area. She just stood there and waited, waited for the courage to go back inside, waited for someone to tell her what to do and give her the easiest option, waited for someone to flick a wand and make her life perfect again, waited for FP and Jughead to come to her as she'd done for the last five years.

What was she to do?

Jughead was rooted in the spot, he didn't know what to do. Should he go after her or give her space again? His father decided before he did.

FP stared after her for a second before he ripped his hat off and slapped it down on the table his daughter had sat not a minute earlier. Without a moment of hesitation, he followed Jellybean's footsteps, giving Jughead one last emotionless look in passing before heading out of the door. Jughead watched him walk away before turning his gaze back to Betty. She'd gotten up too and was watching the intense crossfire nervously, not knowing whether to intervene or not. Jughead smiled sadly at her from across the diner, understanding it wasn't her fault before turning around and following his father out. Betty slid back into her seat, slumping in defeat.

What was she to do?

FP walked out of the diner and whipped his head around, walking further into the parking lot as he searched for his daughter. He was about to call out her name when he saw a figure standing just by the road, her back to him and unmoving apart from her hair which swirled in the wind. FP approached her in a slow jog but once he came within a few feet of her he slowed as if afraid that if he came to close she would disappear in a cloud of smoke or take off running. He took a deep breath before approaching her carefully,

"Jellybean?"

He called after her in a soft whisper, not sure what was to come next but praying she would turn around and face him. She did. She turned around slowly and even in the dim light FP studied every line of her face and it hit him how old she was. How five years had gone by so fast, how much of his daughter's life he'd missed. If they could make this work, there was a lot of catching up to do. She looked so beautiful he thought, so much like her mother and so much like him to. He could pinpoint exactly which of her features were his and which one her mother's and which ones were her very own. He wished more than ever he'd been there to watch her grow into the girl that now stood before him.

She too looked him up and down and thought he looked almost the complete opposite to the man she'd left behind, white replacing where black had once been, joy in eyes that used to only hold hardness and hate, hope on a face that she had only known to contain defeat. The only thing that remained the same was the colour of those eyes, the very same she saw every day as she looked in the mirror.

"Hello," Jellybean said awkwardly, making no move to step forward.

"Jellybean," he repeated as if saving the feeling of the word rolling over his tongue, calling her that again, using that name the way it should be, "You're home."

He said and stepped closer to her and before Jellybean could protest or pull away he wrapped his arms around her. One arm going around her waist and the other around her neck, gripping her close as if he'd never let her go or let her slip through his fingers. Ever again.

"I'm so glad you're home,"

he said, not believing that after five years of separation she'd finally come back. But why now?

"Where's your mother? How have you been? how long are you staying? Is there a reason you came? Why now?"

FP said after eventually pulling away and storming her with questions. He stopped to let her speak but she didn't say a word.

"Jellybean?"

He asked again, worried.

"Mom didn't come, she stayed in Toledo. I told her I was coming here and she didn't join or stop me."

She answered, hesitant to give too much information away about her mother, feeling like it would be an invasion of her privacy if she did. She saw FP's shoulders slump and indeed, he felt a little upset she hadn't come but then again, he'd never expected it. Ever. Jellybean was different, they were blood.

"So I guess you'll be staying with us for a while," FP continued, "I'll get another sofa bed to put in the trailer as soon as possible. It's not much I know, you could have my room and I can sleep on the sofa if you want." FP continued when she didn't answer, "I heard you already had your first day of school, from now on Jughead could take you every morning and back if you don't mind. We could start spending time together."

There was a long silence as Jellybean didn't say anything. She had no idea what to say, how to make it clear…

"I can't stay with you."

She tried explaining it simply but he insisted,

"Oh, that's okay. We could get you a hotel room or you could stay at the Cooper's or something, I'm sure Andrews wouldn't mind if you stayed with them for a while, if it doesn't make you uncomfortable. You could then spend the day with us, leave your stuff at the trailer if you want, I'll get you a key. Or are you only staying for the night?"

FP suggested and Jellybean took a deep breath, knowing he wouldn't let it go or accept it unless she said it straight to his face. Oh, God. She hated having to do it.

"FP, I…I didn't come to see you."

As soon as the phrase left Jellybean's lips she wished there was a better way to phrase it, to ease into it but she knew there wasn't. FP heart fell at the words, at what she'd called him, at what it all meant, but he couldn't say anything or do anything but stare at her. Jellybean hated the silence more than if he'd flung angry words, at least then she could be angry at him, had an excuse to be, but as he stared at her, all she saw was a broken man. A man realising he'd lost his daughter whether she was standing right in front of him or hours away.

"Oh… Ok. I…I"

FP began but stopped himself before he could apologise, what on earth would he be apologising for? For wanting to see her? For being such a terrible father in the past?

"You came to see Jughead?"

FP finally asked and Jellybean nodded, sure her voice would betray her would she attempt to speak.

"Ok then," FP said and sighed deeply, "I'll guess I'll just go then, I'll stay out of your way, don't worry. Gotta warn you though, I work here quite a bit. I'll ask around for a place you can sleep."

He said but before he could turn around and return to the diner Jughead appeared, having run the short distance between the diner and where his family stood.

"Hey, dad?" He said a little worried as the man looked down to his feet,

"You okay?"

Jughead asked, knowing he wasn't. No one asked that question for any other reason than a 'yes' or 'I'm fine' as a reply. Jughead tried to use it as a conversation started instead. FP looked up and put on a forced smile before answering his son's pointless question.

"Yeah, just great." He said in passing, giving Jughead a clap on the back as he walked around him, heading back to the awaiting diner. Jughead watched him go once again before turning to his sister, suddenly angry.

"What the hell was that bullshit?"

He almost shouted at her but knew from experience not to. Too many open wounds. He'd heard most of the previous conversation and was utterly livid at his sister. She didn't answer so he followed with another question.

"And what do you mean you didn't come to see him?"

Jughead asked almost discussed, gesturing towards her accusingly. Tears of anger and sadness started welling in her eyes and Jellybean wished to God she could stop them but she couldn't. Why did she and Jughead always end up fighting? Why did he always take his father's side?

"Are you defending him?" She said, matching his disgusted tone. Jughead stared at her angrily,

"Yes, I'm defending him when his own daughter addresses him by his first name!" He said and this time he did shout, they were both shouting at each other. Jellybean's face turned red with anger,

"I stopped calling him dad a long time ago!" She spat in Jughead's face, "He stopped being my dad a long time ago!"

Jughead clenched his fists, jaw set in anger but didn't say a word.

"You may have forgiven him but I haven't!" Jellybean yelled but as she spoke her words turned into sobs, "I will never forgive him for what he did to this family! To us! Do you want to know how mom's doing? She'd barely alive!"

Jughead flinched at the new piece of shared information but Jellybean was far from done. She went on despite her trembling bottom lip.

"She tries to hide it, tries to be perfect, pretends to be happy just so I can be happy but guess what, after five years I've learnt to see through it! Most days her facade goes uncracked but sometimes she snaps, the grabs what's nearest to her and smashes it or drinks it down or fucks it! Grabs whatever man shows a hint of interest and tries to forget when she thinks I can't see it! All because of him!"

She screamed through the sobs, coming closer and closer to her brother, and kept going, almost like she wasn't talking to Jughead but to FP.

"All because he is such a fuck up! All because the world wasn't good enough for him, his two kids and wife weren't good enough! Because life wasn't good enough and he could only be happy with alcohol drowning the blood in his veins. Never asked how we were, how our day was like any normal father could. He hit her! And would have hit us to had she not stopped him every time. With her body! He chose a damn jacket, a stinking gang over his family! He destroyed his family for it! Broke it! Broke me, mom and you! Made me into the hardest person to love! And you forgive him? Can still stomach looking at him and call him dad? Can bare to see him still breathe? Smile? Happy?"

Jughead didn't respond, didn't dare to. He hadn't known about his mother, hadn't known about Jellybean. But he should have. He should have known. Should have recognized his own fake smile on his sister's young face. Should have recognized the cheerful voice over the phone for what it was, a facade.

"How could you!? How could you!? How could you let her take me away!? How could you let us walk out!? How could you not fight for us, try harder!? How could you be so careless!?"

She kept on bellowing and Jughead knew his sister couldn't see him anymore, that all she could see was the face she hated so much, that looked too much like her own, her father. Jellybean hadn't let herself ever reveal these things out loud, had never allowed them to leave the solid wall she'd built in her head. A wall of solid bricks with only a single crack that led some of the thoughts stream into the paintings, the music she made. But being here, seeing him shattered the wall to bits and it all came spilling out, too fast and too much. And at the wrong person. There was no relief in it, no relief in letting out all those feelings, voicing them, none. They only threatened to shatter her further, the wall had held back so much but had held her together too. She was losing herself in the feelings she was drowning in. And Jughead saw it too. Felt it to sometimes. He had a wall of his own but his hadn't blown apart, his had been and still was being lowered brick by brick. A certain blonde had taken them in her gentle hands and cut them loose one by one, patiently and with love. And Jellybean needed that too.

Her words run dry and she could do nothing but sway where she stood, so close to Jughead, her whole body shaking, her face a reck. Jughead swore to help her, that she wouldn't leave Riverdale until she was whole again, no matter what. No excuses, no easy way out. He would save her, starting now. He opened his arms and closed the small distance between them. She let herself collapse into him, not realising how much she'd needed it till them. How much she needed her big brother to take care of her. His arms went straight around her and this time so did hers, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, believing it would somehow keep her glued together, to keep her from falling apart just yet.

Back in the Diner behind the two siblings sat a much thought about blonde, smiling. She'd seen the comings and goings of the Jones through the splits in the blinds and found it hard to follow the conversation until the two siblings had begun yelling. She'd watched in shock but not daring to go down and intervene, it was family business after all. She didn't take her eyes off them as the arguments heated to a point where Jellybean was one step from straight up punching him. Betty smiled in surprise as instead of punching him she fell into his awaiting arms. She didn't know what they'd been arguing about but, knowing Jughead, it would be alright. He'd make it alright.


	13. A story behind a photograph

Chapter 13: A story behind a photograph

(Enjoy.)

Jellybean and Jughead stood there in an embrace for a long time, Jellybean's tears coming less and less until they stopped completely before Jughead carefully pulled away.  
"Hey, Jellybean?" He asked her cautiously, "you're not really going to avoid dad the whole time you're here?"  
Jellybean sighed, hoping he'd just let it go and let her give in to her drooping eyelids.  
"I don't know, I meant what I said and for now I just wanna spend time with you."  
She said, stepping back and wiping her damp cheeks, her voice hoarse. Jughead nodded understandingly, having been where she was now, he rubbed her arm comfortingly.  
"Yeah, of course. Just...he's trying Jellybean. He really is, he's working at Pop's, he's sober, hasn't touched a drink in months. He's been a good father to me. I know it might seem too late, we're both grown up now but...Better late then never right?"

Jellybean nodded, not quite believing it but too tired to object, hell, she didn't think she could stand for much longer. Noticing her eyes droop in exhaustion and longer blinks than usual he led her to his bike, a hand on her lower back.

"Wait here okay? I'm just going to get Betty." He said and waited for Jellybean's answer. She just gave him a simple, tired nod and he ran back into the diner, a slight smile on his face. It wasn't much he knew, but it was something. A beginning to something. He found Betty already standing, waiting for him nervously, fiddling with the zip on his jacket. He would ask it back late but for now...It looked good on her. He walked over to her until he stood right in front of her, inches apart.  
"Looking good Cooper."  
He told her with a smirk, her nervous smile fell into a large grin and she gave him a twirl. He laughed at the gesture and leaned forward to give her a peck. The kiss ended up being a little longer than intended, earning a pointed cough from one of the few remaining occupied booths. Betty pulled back, biting her lip but kept her hands on either side of his face, her thumb moving in soft circles over the soft skin. Concern filling her eyes and grin falling.  
"Hey, you okay?"

She asked and he nodded before plopping down in the seat Jellybean had occupied earlier.  
"Too much going on."

He said, his own smile gone and he rubbed his temples. Betty agreed.  
"Yeah, but it'll all work out." She answered him, "anything you need, I'll be there."

Betty said and meant it. Whether he needed to smile or a ride, she would help him. He nodded gratefully and was about to decline her offer kindly when a thought occurred to him.

"Well, since you offered, how about a bed for the night?"

And so, five minutes later Betty and Jughead where on their bikes, Jellybean behind Jughead and heading down to Betty's. Heads turned at the Southsider bikes cruising through the Northside but they didn't take notice. The phone call she'd just had with her mom was playing on a loop in Betty's head. She'd called her mom just after Jughead had asked for a place Jellybean could stay, for the time being, him staring at her expectedly from across the booth. She'd been unable to shake the conversation off since. It played over once again,

"Hey, mom,"

Betty said a little cheerfully as Alice picked up the phone.  
"Hey, Sweetie, not planning on disappearing again are you?"

Alice greeted her with her jokingly but stern tone. Betty rolled her eyes and smiled. She'd called her mom ages ago, as soon as Veronica had told her about the lie and everything. Betty had gone along with Veronica's lie for the most part. What Alice didn't know couldn't hurt her.

"No, but I do have a favour to ask. Or at least Jughead does."  
Betty said a little nervously, knowing Alice was going through a hard time and not sure what she, Jellybean or Jughead would do where Alice not to help out.  
"Yeah, Betty?"  
Alice asked when she didn't elaborate immediately and stopped whatever she was doing to pay closer attention. Betty glanced nervously at Jughead sitting before her as she continued.  
"Well, you see. Jellybean, Jughead's sister, just came in town from Toledo and she...she can't stay with her dad for now, would it be okay if she stayed with us for a while or at least the night?"  
There was a moment of silence as Alice took in the information.  
"Jellybean? Wow. That was a long time ago. What's she doing here? Did something happen?"  
She asked, going from surprised to worried. She wondered what it all meant, she'd been the one there for FP after all, when the two women in his life had left and it hadn't sounded like they were ever coming back.  
Betty swallowed before answering,  
"I don't know mum, I really don't."  
She said, almost defeated and angry for being kept in the dark. There must have been something in her voice or simply Alice's motherly intuition when she suddenly grew more concerned.  
"You okay Sweetie?"

She asked and Betty nodded.  
"Yeah, just give me a minute. Can she stay?"  
Jughead leant forward as if trying to catch the answer over the phone.  
"Yeah, yeah of course. Bring her over, I'll set up the guest bedroom."  
Alice said and Betty thanked her before pulling her phone away from her ear to tell Jughead about her mother's agreement. 'She can stay' Betty mouthed and Jughead's shoulders slumped in relief, one less problem on his tired shoulders. Betty signed to Jughead that she had to finish her call outside, he nodded and stayed behind in the booth as she left the diner. Slipping out swiftly, her phone placed against her ear once again.

Jellybean stood outside patiently, he'd only been gone for five minutes but it was starting to get cold even with her jacket on, or at least she'd started noticing the chill wind. It was rather late and Pop's had emptied, or the most part, the parking lot almost deserted of cars and people. She wondered how many had seen her scene with her father and brother. If anyone had, they'd at least been respectful enough to have kept walking and not stood and stared. She heard the faint bell of Pop's from across the parking lot and looked up, noticing Betty exit the brightly lit dinner.

She watched Betty as she brought a phone to her ear and moved into the dark, near the side of the diner to talk to whoever was on the other end. Jellybean waited a little longer, occasionally looking over to Betty to find her still on the phone, still no sign of Jughead. She tapped her foot impatiently before deciding to go up to the girl, she might just end up staying here all night or freezing to death if she didn't. She started approaching the blonde in the leather jacket and planned on asking her whether she could get a bed for the night. Jughead had probably already asked, leading to this phone call in the first place. But asking again was better than just standing in the cold evening's air.

Betty looked over her shoulder one last time before bringing her phone to her ear once again.

"Mom?" She asked, making sure she was still there. Alice answered immediately,

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"Hey, the truth is Mom, I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this. She just showed up and really hurt Jughead and FP too. Again."

Betty had seen the look on the Serpents leader's face when he'd reentered the diner, it had been anything but his usual calm self, you could see the pain in his eyes. She'd wondered what Jellybean could have possibly said to him. She'd debated talking to FP or giving him a hug but she didn't think he'd appreciate it or like it when surrounded by people. Besides, they didn't have that type of relationship. She wondered if Jughead would even tell her what had really happened.

"And I can't help but feel angry at her. She left, left Jughead and FP and now she's back, hurting them all over again and looking down at them, people who had welcomed her back with open arms despite all she'd done. I know it's not all on her, Jughead told me about his mother but still….

I was there, Mom. I was there for him, she wasn't. She skipped the chapters in any book where all the bad and terrible happens, where the hero has to struggle and keeps getting knocked down, and went straight to the happy ever after at the end. And…" Betty took a deep breath, "I can't trust her not to walk away again, that she'll go back to Toledo at some point. I can't trust her not to hurt him again, to add more chapters of pain to his life. There are already way too many of those and he won't reach out, he'll try caving in and I...I can't lose him again. I can't lose him to himself."

There was a silence over the phone as Alice tried to think of what to say to comfort her daughter. Neither of them knew of the figure listening, her heart filling with guilt and dread.

Jellybean didn't mean to, she really didn't. But as she approached the blonde she realised she probably shouldn't be interrupting her phone call. It might be important and Betty seemed a nervous and desperate as she spoke, even though Jellybean couldn't make out distinct words. Jellybean stood a healthy distance away, waiting for her to finish but she couldn't help it as her ears adjusted to Betty's distant talking. She caught a snippet of something Betty said and took a step closer.

"I was there for him, she wasn't."

She took another step closer as she strained to listen. Betty hadn't seen her, her back to the brunette as she continued her conversation. Jellybean could hear nothing but Betty's breaking voice and the sound of her own painfully hard pounding heart. There was a silence where Jellybean guessed that the other person on the line was speaking, she retreated back to the motorbikes before she could get caught as the silence dragged on.

"Remember Betty, she lost her brother too. This isn't one-sided, it probably wasn't her choice either and she had little to nothing to do with it either, I'm guessing. I think she's very brave coming back, to face her family and try to fix things. Not doing that is most people's greatest regrets in life. Better late than never Betty. No one knows that better than me."

Alice said soothingly and Betty shuffled her feet as her mother spoke, feeling embarrassed for not considering all the sides to the story.

"Yeah, you're right. She seems really nice anyway, I'll give her chance and help make her stay as pleasant as possible. In fact, maybe Veronica and I could throw her a welcome back party. I'll ask Veronica to organise it, she's more of the party type than me anyway."

Betty said before thanking her mom and her mom saying she was happy to have been able to help. Betty pocketed her phone and took a deep breath, feeling much better and like a weight she'd been carrying around all day had been lifted off her shoulder. She walked back to the Diner with a smile, still not noticing Jellybean who seemed to blend into the night. A trait all Jones seem to have, along with listening into phone calls that get them hurt.

Betty found Jughead right where she'd left him, his hands tapping a rhythm on the table, one she recognized as the beat to the song 'Should I stay or should I go.' It had been one of the songs they'd played on repeat coming back into town this early morning. She watched his hands as she came closer, watching different fingers tap like he was playing the piano. She sometimes forgot he could. He stopped as he noticed her eyes on him and looked up, fearful and expectant. Betty gave him a wide smile and a nod as he got to his feet. Five minutes later they were heading down to the Cooper's.

"So, it hasn't been used for a while but you can stay here, or in Polly's room if you prefer," Betty said as she flicked on the guest room lights, showing Jellybean the bleak room inside. It was small and completely white with only a bed to furnace it.

"No, here's fine thank you," Jellybean said, not wanting to be too much of a bother and staying in a room of a missing sister, just like she'd been, seemed wrong. She wondered what had happened. She'd walked into the house not ten minutes ago, welcomed warmly by a slightly familiar woman, Alice. She'd looked around the perfect house, every surface spotless and almost all covered in pictures. All framed in the most creative and different ways. Some of Betty, some of Alice, some of an older blonde than Betty who, after having asked, Alice said was Betty's sister Polly. There was only one picture of what Jellybean had guessed to be the Cooper's sisters dad, right in the corner of a family picture, almost completely hidden. There were many more of the rest of the family, of Polly holding two twins, her kids Jellybean guessed and of Betty holding them too, a proud Aunt. Funny how much pictures can tell you about a family. Jellybean couldn't help smile at one of the pictures she spotted when she passed the shelves just before the stairs. It was the one picture of Jughead and was tucked behind a few of Alice and Betty. You could hardly see it but Jellybean could, and it was undoubtedly Jughead. She wouldn't dare pull it out so she admired what she could see of the picture.

He was holding one of the twins, looking very uncomfortable as he tries to figure out how to hold it best but he was smiling from ear to ear none the less. After all, It had been a long time since he'd had to hold Jellybean like that. Jellybean couldn't see much of Betty but enough to know that she was standing beside him in the picture, her arm around his waist and the other holding the other twin balanced on her hip. She moved on from the picture with a lingering smile and followed Betty up the stairs, Jughead falling in line just behind her. Everything in this house was so perfect, the pictures, paintings, they even had a grand fireplace, yellow walls, curtains, candles, rugs, sofas and chairs. It was all a bit too perfect, not so homey as it reminded Jellybean of a dollhouse. She'd only lived in a proper house with two floors and many rooms for a short time in her life so maybe she'd forgotten what normal was, but still...This place gave her chills.

Betty left her to her gloomy room when Jellybean suddenly remembered the forgotten messenger bag at FP's trailer. Just great, she thought, now she'd have to go and get it. Or she could send someone else, Jughead maybe. She decided against it, that seemed cruel, the last slap in both their faces. She left the white room and walked down the corridor, closing the door behind her and wondering where she could find Betty. She walked down the, once again, perfect hall and passed a white door. She guessed that was Betty's mom's room based on appearance. Betty's dad, based on the photos she'd seen downstairs and now along the hall she walked, was quite literally out of the picture. She could relate.

He clearly wasn't dead or there would be pictures of remembrance so...She shook off her trail of thoughts, it scared her how easily she could unravel a person's whole life like that. She found herself doing it a lot and wished she could stop, it reminded her how easily someone could unravel hers.

She kept walking down the slim hall before coming across a cream white almost pink door. She heard whispers as she came closer to the door, open at a small crack. She went to knock but as she identified the whispers as Jughead and Betty's she stopped and changed her mind. They deserved some time alone. She knew she knew she couldn't just come into Jughead's life and expect him to drop everyone and everything. Yes, they were siblings, but he no longer needed her love as much as he used to. They'd been all the other had had for a long time sure, he had Archie and Betty and sure, Jellybean had Alison and Matt but still….We always thought we were the only ones who would and could always be there for each other. Turns out that wasn't as truthfully as she thought.

People go and sometimes it's better if they stay away, she wondered if she was one of those people. Or one of those people that fight tooth and nail for what once was. She sighed as she turned around and headed back to her room. She'd have to make due with what she had. When she re-entered the room there was a pair of strippy pink pyjamas waiting for her and her smile resurfaced. Then there were those type of people, who did everything, gave you everything just when you're not looking or when you don't see it. She wondered if her mom was one of those people. Alice was but was Sadie? Jellybean wasn't so sure.

Jellybean put on the pyjamas, her motion becoming slower and slower with every pull on the fabric before she finally got them on and let herself fall into the bed. She curled up like she'd done so many times before and let the warmth of the blanket overflow her body. She sighed one more blissful sigh before she drifted off to God knows where.


	14. Hello Stranger

Chapter 14: Hello stranger

Thank you for your wonderful reviews and kudos!

She woke up groggily, the light coming through her bedroom window shining into her eyes. She groaned, she must have forgotten to close the blinds but she wasn't going to move now. She felt two strong arms wrapped around her, holding her closely. She smiled, remembering the same incident weeks ago, only this time she let herself sink into it. There was no school, nowhere urgent she needed to go, just her and Jughead. She must have woken him because he yawned loudly and snuggled closer to her, the grip of his arm around her waist strengthening. She sighed and he gently pulled her hair band from its ponytail. They must have fallen asleep quite late if she hadn't untied her hair. She felt the waves of her hairbrush her shoulders before, with tender hands, Jughead brushed some of her locks away and kissed her neck softly. He kissed her again and again, rousing her softly and sweetly.

She turned around in his arms, her body coming on top of his and his arms moving around her waist, keeping her there as she softly kissed him, her lips brushing his tenderly as she couldn't stop smiling.

The two stayed like that for a while, curled up on one side of Betty's large bed, having no care in the world but each other. Meanwhile, Jellybean too awoke but her thoughts weren't as pleasant.

Fucking window, she thought as she woke up to the morning sun shining brightly into her eyes. She groaned and rolled over, facing the other wall. Her blanket had half slid off her and now her feet were cold. She hated cold feet and generally hated mornings.

She reached for her phone like she did subconsciously every morning and cursed the world again when she remembered it was dead and pressed the on button furiously for a few seconds before letting her phone fall to the bed. Just great. She dragged herself out of bed a few seconds later.

She knew she'd have to change into yesterday's clothes and while she wasn't super excited about it she'd thought it might have come down to it. She pulled off her borrowed pyjamas, folded them neatly then pulled her own clothes back on. If she wanted breakfast she had to be dressed, her mom never allowed breakfast in pyjamas and while this was Jughead's girlfriend's house she wasn't about to parade around in pink pyjamas.

As she pulled her shirt over her head she noticed a bag in the corner of the room. Thank God, she thought. It was her messenger bag. Jughead must have brought it in, saving her the awkwardness of having to send him to get it from FP's trailer or having to get it herself.

She was still mad at her dad but now she'd gotten a good night's rest she realised she might have just been a little hard on him and it hadn't really been how she'd felt. They had been her worlds, she'd definitely believed it but they were the thoughts her mother relentlessly drilled into her. She wasn't her mother and FP wasn't her ex-husband or whatever he was to her mother, he was her father. They had a right to each other but perhaps he'd screwed that up, or maybe she'd been the one to give the boulder a final push off the cliff.

She decided it was too early to think of boulders and grabbed the charger from her duffle bag. She plugged her phone in and debated waiting for it to charge a little before checking it or heading for breakfast. She had one of those stupid nokias which could do nothing but play music, snakes and make phone calls and text.

She decided she'd let it charge and left the room in search of breakfast.

Just as she did Betty did the same across the hall, the two girls noticed each other and smiled.

"Good morning."

Betty said with a smile, her hair was up in the same ponytail Jellybean remembered her always having and she wore blue shorts and a pink shirt. Much nicer then Jellybean's pyjamas and she was suddenly grateful she'd changed them.

"Good morning"

She said back and waited by the door, not sure what to do. Without meaning to her eyes slid to Betty's room. From what she could see it was pink. Very pink. And she could just see her bed on which two sock-clad feet were visible, clearly Jughead's.

She once again wondered how serious their relationship was. It must have been quite serious if Alice had let him stay over.

"There's breakfast downstairs, I'm starved. Want some?."

Betty said and closed the door behind herself before heading for the staircase, Jellybean said she would love some and followed Betty down. She was relieved to have been invited for breakfast, not sure what she would have done otherwise.

They entered the dining room and Betty greeted her mother cheerfully before taking a seat.

"Hey, mom."

"Good morning Alice."

Jellybean said politely before taking the seat Betty offered her. The table had already been laid for everyone and orange juice poured into the glass with a plate of pancakes freshly made. Betty took one just as Jughead came hopping down the stairs. Jellybean looked at him in amusement as he took the seat opposite her and grabbed three pancakes, thanking Alice over his shoulder as he dumped a generous amount of the chocolate syrup over it. Betty wrinkled her nose in disapproval but neither Jughead nor Jellybean minded. Jellybean did the same only with a lot less syrup when she remembered the bag.

"Thanks for returning my bag by the way."

She said in a whisper, even more, grateful because, since he slept here he must have gone and get it late yesterday or early this morning. He halted chewing the large mouthful of pancakes he was eating to look at her in surprise. He swallowed before saying, mouth still containing pancake.

"What bag?"

He asked softly, genuinely not knowing what she was talking about. Alice just leaned over Betty to place another plate of pancakes on the table and caught the whisper.

"But then who did?"

Jellybean asked. Who'd been to FP's and back if not Jughead? Unless….

"FP did."

Alice said to no one in particular as she took her usual seat at the head of the table. Jellybean felt a pang of guilt well up in her chest. After all, she'd said to him had he really come here to give her bag back, not looking for any thanks or favours. Just a small kindness. A kindness she perhaps deserved.

An awkward kind of silence hovered over the table for the rest of the meal, which thank god, was quite short. Alice had some sort of meeting, Betty wanted to go out for a morning run and was trying to convince Jughead to come too.

"C'mon it's good for you. You should come."

"No thanks." Jughead had said with a laugh, a mildly disgusted look on his face. "I'd prefer the company of these pancakes."

He said as he grabbed the last plate of pancakes Alice had left before leaving. Betty just rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly. While no one had said it Jellybean felt that perhaps the Coopers hospitality had come to an end and she'd be better off finding somewhere else to spend her day.

"I'll be around town if anybody needs me."

She'd said as she came back down the stairs, bag resting on her hip and ready to go.

"Oh, you really don't have to go."

Betty said guiltily, and while Jellybean did find the idea of sleeping in very appealing she knew she'd been right. It was her time to leave.

"No, I want to. I want to see the place, see what else has changed."

Betty smiled understandably and with a last parting smile ran up the stairs to get dressed. Jughead was still seated at the table, shoving another pancake in his mouth when he suddenly looked like he wanted to say something. Jellybean waited, he swallowed but still no words came.

What could you say at a time like this? He thought. Should he bid her well, say 'see you later' or 'you want to get to know each other again sometime?' He really didn't know, so he said the first stupid thing that came to mind.

"Why Jo?"

As soon as the words had left his mouth he realised how stupid they were. Why wouldn't she give her name as something more normal than Jellybean or even Forsythia? Jellybean blinked at the random question and thought for a minute before saying.

"No-one calls me Jellybean anymore. Just mom and now I guess you and…"

She caught herself before she could make the same mistake again.

"Dad." She said, the words feeling weird on her tongue but she moved on from it quickly.

"It was on the first day of my new school. All new students were forced to wear name tags on their first name. Mom insisted I write Jellybean so I did but as soon as I walked into the hall I realised just how ridiculous that was."

She frowned at the memory. Looking back at her younger self she would have slapped the naive little girl for looking so ridiculous. Pink dress, pigtails, ridiculous bag and ridiculous name tag with a ridiculous name. The pathetic cherry on top, having to answer to the name Jellybean. Why hadn't Jughead changed his name? She was so lost in her thoughts she missed the sad expression on Jughead's face and the slight wince as she called her name ridiculous.

"I was ready to run to the nearest bathroom and burst into floods of tears. But luckily enough the first person I bumped into was nice enough to warn me and she helped me scratch it out and well... We ended on Jo. Since then I've been Jo."

She remembered it vaguely. It was one of those memories that just got lost in the excitement and a whole string of things her girlfriend had done for her over the years. Jughead nodded understandingly and smiled a little forced, before she decided against it she asked the question that had occurred to her seconds earlier.

"Why do you actually still go by Jughead?"

He shrugged, looking down at his empty plate as he ran his fingers across its rim, mopping up all the spilt syrup.

"I don't know. I got a hard time for it but not for too long. And I always thought it better than my actual name."

Jellybean agreed. They really had been cursed with the worst names.

"But since you and mom left I felt like it was the only thing you'd left behind."

She felt a sharp pang in her chest at his words. He still didn't meet her gaze as he continued.

"You left me and I was determined to still be me when you came to get me. I'd be Jughead then and always. Not being Jughead anymore felt like giving in to being without you, to accept it and move on. But as years passed I started to realise you weren't coming for me but still, I held on."

He looked at her now, and it hit her how old he looked. He wasn't the boy of sixteen he was supposed to be, he looked so much older, those eyes held much more sorrow then they should. So young and yet he'd gotten the worst beating life could give him. She now wondered whether FP had ever laid a hand on him, too drunk to care. Too angry. She wondered how old her eyes looked. Where those her own eyes staring back at her?

"You were too young to remember but it wasn't mom who gave me my name, Jughead I mean. I was always supposed to be Forsyth Jones the third but you couldn't pronounce it."

He laughed, his eyes full of a far away memory. And she smiled too, even if she felt tears slip down her cheek. They were sad and happy, confused and certain, unsure and confident, regret and guilty tears. Tears for her mother she'd left behind, tears for the brother she'd left behind so many years ago. She couldn't stop them, didn't want to. They were tears she'd held in for too long.

"You tried and tried but eventually we gave up to try and teach you so instead we did like dad did. We gave me a nickname, yours was soon to follow. You were allowed to choose mine and me yours."

He laughed again and she did too, laughing and choking on a sob.

"It was a terrible idea. Letting two siblings who loved and hated each other name one another but we did. We started with other shorter names but soon abandoned those. We had special, unique names, our nicknames should be too. Then dad thought of mashing different objects. God, they were awful. Ranging from anything to a certain something to a plate something."

They both laughed again but didn't move. He sat there, telling a story she'd never heard before or simply didn't remember and she stood there, bag under her arm and ready to leave again.

"One day we had a party or something. I can't remember what it was. Anyway, I couldn't reach the drinks upon the high table of this person's house, I reached and reached until I had the brilliant idea of pulling the cloth the jugs of apple juice and water stood with the intention of sliding them closer. But instead I pulled too hard and they all come down. Most missed me and shattered on the floor around me except for one. It had been knocked over, its content spilt over the table and rolled right over the edge and hit me in the head. Everyone came running to the noise and was staring at me in shock, embarrassment, worry or anger. And there was you, coming in behind my parents and the owners of the house and the other ten or something people. And you laughed. You pointed at me and laughed. I was rubbing my head, feeling a bruise starting to form and was about to cry yet you were laughing. No one said anything for a while and you just laughed, trying to speak around your laughing.

"Jug….Head."

You managed out before mom ran forward and dragged you out of the room, looking very embarrassed and scolding you. But I wasn't crying anymore, the pain was gone and I was smiling."

She'd heard the story before but hadn't thought about it for ages. And hearing it from Jughead's lips, a ghost of a smile on his lips made the memory so vivid. She'd always been told the story and never remembered any of it herself but now she did. And she suddenly remembered why she'd laughed.

"It was Nana's funeral,"

She whispered and Jughead stared at her. His eyes confused then widened and he didn't say anything.

"That's why mom was so mad, that's why I laughed. Everyone was so sad, you especially and I'd been trying so hard to make you happy or smile for so long. So when you stood there, new tears forming in your eyes, a new disaster for you to have to face I couldn't help it, I couldn't stand watching you sad anymore. I laughed, laughed because everything had been so sad for too long. No-one laughed anymore. I laughed because me laughing used to make you laugh. And as I was pulled away I saw that smile again. The smile I missed so much."

He stayed silent. He'd forgotten that part completely. He'd replaced one of the saddest memories with one of the best ones. But there hadn't been any happy memories that day to replace the one of his sister and mother left in the dead of the night. A long moment later Jughead broke his bewildered gaze and continued his story.

"Since then you called me Jughead and eventually dad and mom did too. And I continued the search for a good nickname for you. Until finally you came home from a walk with mom one day and you walked into the door and with one look at you, me and dad were laughing. You'd gotten a Jellybean stuck in your hair and no one, not mom or you could explain how it had gotten there. You'd looked at us in confusion, no idea why we were laughing until I'd pulled it out and you'd cried a little at the pain as it pulled at your hair but as I bend down before you and said,

"Jellybean. I'll call you Jellybean."

You laughed. Happy and joyful."

His smile faltered a bit.

"It had been a hard time, none of us had laughed in a while and that Jellybean had come like a charm of good luck, making us all laugh, making us forget all the bad for just a single, sweet moment. The name stuck and ever since you were Jellybean to everyone."

He stopped for a second and she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"I didn't know. Mom never told me."

And suddenly she felt ashamed for ever hiding her name, changing it. For thinking it childish and embarrassing. It wasn't embarrassing or silly, it was wonderful and beautiful how two kids, three years apart had made all the bad moments as happy as they could. When their father had started losing money they'd made good memories, when he donned a Serpent jacket they continued to laugh but when they were pulled apart their laughs no longer came. They found happiness with others and did all they could to make themselves happy.

Now they stood opposite each other, nothing but a table and lost time between them and they both hoped, a childish, naive hope in the depths of their hearts that all the pain had passed, that they'd had their fair share of misery and could be happy, together.

They simply stayed where they were, a silent agreement passing between them.

No more separation, no more misery, no more loneliness.

They were snapped out of it as Betty called down the staircase.

"Jughead, have you seen my headphones?"

She yelled and Jughead got up and returned his plate to the kitchen as he said,

"Check under your cushion!"

He yelled and after a moment she replied,

"What cushion?"

She yelled back and he sighed and ran up the staircase, going up to help her find what she was looking for.

"Later Sis!"

He cried over his shoulder and she yelled back a simple bye and left the house. She closed the door gently behind her and stepped out onto the path, only to walk right into someone. They collided hard, her head going right into his shoulder. Her hand flew to her hurting head as she mumbled her apologies, stumbling back, whoever she'd just run into was doing the same, apologising frantically.

"Sorry, I should have seen where I was going, I had my headphones in."

He said as if it were a valid excuse for not seeing her.

"It's alright. It's partly my fault, I shouldn't have walked out like that."

She still hadn't faced the man she'd run into, she was too busy holding her thumping head and making sure she didn't fall over. He'd steadied her with a hand on each of her shoulders as she'd wobbled. She looked up and met the man's gaze, only to find it wasn't a man at all. It was Archie Andrews, nothing more than a boy. All though his muscular arms would suggest otherwise.

"Jellybean?"

"Archie?"

They both cried out at the same time then just awkwardly stood there for a minute, his hands still on her shoulders and she was also still holding her head.

"How's your shoulder?"

She said, breaking the awkward silence. He released her eventually, she'd regained her balance ages ago and now it was even more awkward. He looked at her in disbelief.

"Fine, your head?"

He asked, pointing at it. She no longer held her hand to it and shrugged.

"Fine, nice shoulder you have there."

The words had slipped out before she could stop herself. It wasn't that she found him particularly attractive, it was more so that she didn't know how to talk to Jughead's friends. She never had really. Archie had clearly been out for a run when he'd almost knocked her over, dressed in short shorts and running top.

"So I'm back in town," She covered up a lot smoother. "Anything change particularly?"

He too seemed glad for the easy conversation and shrugged.

"Nothing much. It's just one of those towns I guess. Although, we almost got a prison."

She'd have to look into that. She'd heard something about it, but for now, she had more urgent things to take care of. Her phone remained in her pocket, off for now but as soon as she found a good spot she'd face all her responsibilities. She couldn't run from them any longer.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that."

He nodded sadly then looked passed Jellybean's shoulder to Betty's house.

"Hey, what ya doing there so early?"

She wasn't in the mood of conversation but hey, why not?

"Oh, I stayed the night."

She said occasionally and he seemed extremely surprised.

"Really? You didn't stay at your dad, FP's place?"

She almost flinched at the mentioning of his name. She'd grown so used to the name never being spoken, FP was always a taboo subject around her mother. But when they did or one of them talked about him it was always FP but never dad.

"No, it's complicated. But anyway. Nice seeing you again, you live next door right?"

She asked, remembering some distant memory of it. Funny how it always seemed Archie and Betty would end up together but instead Betty and Jughead did.

"Yeah, are you going to be staying at Betty's…."

He stopped, not sure how to finish the question. Not that she knew either whether she was visiting, staying forever or ever going to face FP.

"We'll see."

Was all she said and Archie got the messaged it was time to go.

"Nice seeing you again too, see ya."

He said and waved once more over his shoulder as he continued his run, earbuds going back in again. She almost sighed in relief at the easy escape and continued the way she'd planned on going in the first place. She wondered if it was still there. There was no way of knowing.

She could remember most of the way there, only taking one or two wrong turns. She was afraid she might be lost but as she passed around the back of the trailer park she sighed in relief and knew she'd gone the right way. She waded through the overgrown, unkept grass, going dead straight and coming close to entering the woodland. The path she'd made by coming here so often had disappeared with time and her absence but she was sure she knew how to get there again. Just when she thought she'd gone too far or went the wrong way she found it. She grinned uncontrollably, there it was, hanging from the tree was her swing and the ladder built into the drunk that led up to the tree house above it. The tree house itself was hidden behind the branches but as she came closer she could see more and more of it and her relief grew. God, she'd missed this place.

She climbed up the steps of the ladder that had once seemed impossibly big and climbed through the hole at the bottom of the tree house. The hole was almost too small for her but she managed to squeeze herself through. She could just stand, the roof brushing over her hair and looked around. It didn't look as magical and amazing as she remembered, the pictures and paintings on the walls were fainted and definitely not as good as she'd thought they were at the time. They were pictures of Riverdale, Jughead, Jellybean and little Alice. That's what everyone had called her best friend, little Alice. She was small for her age and always looked much younger than Jellybean even though Alice was only two months younger than her. She wondered where Alice was now as she traced her hands over the faded drawings. She'd come back and fix them one day, add a fresh layer of paint, come and wipe away the cobwebs. But as she looked around the small room she suddenly realised there wasn't any dust or cobwebs, the place was clean. Why and how was it clean? Had someone been here since she had? Did Alice still come here?

As she kept walking through it, looking at the different walls she remembered paintings she'd forgotten and new ones. Pictures that hadn't been there before, better pictures of the tall grass, the tree house, the old swing as it looked now. Whoever had painted them had odiously been cautious of the old pictures and hadn't dared to paint too much else. But as she came round the rest of the room she saw two faces, beautifully drawn, her and Alice exactly as they had been, looking at each other from the corner of their eyes. Two giggling, happy little girls who were best friends.

She let her hand trace the beautiful details and knew she had to find who'd drawn this, had it been Alice? Could they together finish the rest of the tree house? Make the paintings beautiful and vibrant again?

She walked away from the wall and climbed down the hole and steps down to the floor again. She cautiously sat on the swing, afraid it would collapse from wood rotting or her heavyweight. When she was sure it wouldn't she put down her messenger bag and pulled out her phone. She stared at it for a long time before she dared to turn it on. The familiar chime as it turned on seemed too loud as she clutched the phone in her hands. What was she going to find? A hundred missed phone calls from her mom? Or none at all? What would be worse?

She was just about to put her password in when she heard a rustle in the bushes before her, the sound coming from the path she'd walked on two minutes ago. She looked up, phone still in hand and in the small clearing the tree house had been built a girl appeared. Jellybean stared at her but the newcomer didn't seem to notice her until she looked up, stopping a short distance away from Jellybean.

"Oh," The girl said as Jellybean just stared at her, no idea what to say. The two girls stood like that for a second until the intruders surprise look fell and a grin broke over her face, one lip coming higher than the other.

"Hello, stranger."


	15. A fairy tale again

Chapter 15: A fairy tale again

As always, Enjoy.

She said and Jellybean was at a complete loss of words. The stranger kept moving forward and then stopped just as abruptly, unsure of what to do. Nothing happened until Jellybean eventually asked,  
"Wh...What are you doing here?"  
Jellybean managed to blurt out to the familiar girl standing before her.  
"I umm. Well you see..."  
She tried again,  
"I come here a lot actually. I like this place."  
She said as if attempting to answer Jellybean's question and justifying it.  
"What about you?"  
She asked suspiciously and Jellybean stared at her.  
"It's my tree house!"  
Jellybean said almost defensively. "I mean, I came here all the time as a kid."  
She said softer, not sure if she really could lay claim on this place, after all...  
"How come I've never seen you here before then?"  
The girl challenged and Jellybean scoffed.  
"Because I'm not a kid anymore, I haven't been here in years."  
Now the stranger scoffed and both Jellybean, still sitting on the swing, phone in hand and the intruder with the duffle bag were mad at one another for no reason.  
"You so are."  
She said and Jellybean looked her up and down.  
'You're like a year older than me!"  
Jellybean said angrily and then stopped herself. What were they fighting about?  
"Me and my best friend made this place as kids with the help of her dad. Then I moved away and I just came back yesterday and... Well, I hadn't been since I left and wanted to see this place again. See if it was still here."  
Jellybean explained and the girl looked at her suspiciously for a second before a sadder look replaced it.  
"Neither has she."  
She said in a long whisper but Jellybean still understood and her heart skipped a beat. What did that mean?  
"Your best friend, Alice right?"  
The stranger asked and Jellybean nodded, not trusting herself to speak, too many memories flooding through her head.  
"She told me a lot about this place and you. But since you left she hasn't been here since. She waited for you the whole day but you didn't come."  
She said softly as if afraid to shatter Jellybean's heart in a million pieces. Jellybean didn't say anything and the stranger she'd found so cute at school yesterday came closer and lendt against the tree beside her.  
She faced her as she continued,  
"She told me about how you'd meet here everyday and painted and covered the walls in doodles of your adventures and the ones that were to come. She told me how nice and kind you were. How you met behind that tree."  
That wasn't completely true but she still smiled at the memory.  
She'd come with Jughead to the great tree she'd found for climbing behind the trailer park and was climbing up it only to find that on the other side of the tree was another little girl with two braids tied up with purple string and the most beautiful skin trying to o climb up too. They'd each almost fallen off in surprise but continued meeting there ever since, sitting in the branches until one day Alice brought her dad, a military man who wasn't often around and wanted to do something for his daughter. And so construction for the tree house had began.  
"You're Jellybean right?"  
She nodded and the stranger smiled.  
"Alice showed me pictures of you two. It's how I recognised you yesterday. Or almost did. I think I knew but you never seemed real. You were just the lost girl, the girl that only existed in old pictures and stories and memories. Then suddenly you were just there."  
Now both girls were smiling at old memories they got to share with each other.  
Jellybean didn't mind Alice talking about her but had she really never come back here?  
She asked and the redhead shook her head, her smile falling.  
"No. Or maybe once to say goodbye."  
She paused before continuing.  
"But I wanted to see it so badly. Just to see if it was even real it all sounded a little too much like a fairy tale. So I followed her directions and got terribly lost before eventually finding it right here, faded drawings and all."  
Jellybean smiled.  
"Sometimes you have to get lost to find what you're looking for."  
The other girl smiled too.  
"A painter and a poet, wow."  
She said amusingly and impressed as a thought occurred to Jellybean. If Alice hadn't been there since she had...  
"You painted the pictures of me and Alice."  
It wasn't a question or an accusation but she nodded anyway.  
"Yes. Alice asked me to. Once I told her I'd visited she handed me the two pictures of you two as children and I did what she asked, she said that."  
She scratched her head nervously, her smile nervous too. So she wasn't as confident as she'd seemed at school Jellybean thought.  
"Alice said she wanted you and her to be immortal in those moments as two children. I thought it creepy but also kinda sweet."  
"Thank you,"  
Jellybean said and she shrugged, her curls bouncing with the movement but Jellybean saw the relief in her eyes. She'd thought Jellybean would disapprove.  
"I didn't want to jump you with all of this on your first day, I wasn't even sure it was you. But second is good I guess."  
The stranger said and smiled again, wide and happy, her red hair seeming to glow with it.  
"I'm glad you still remember this place, Alice would be happy."

Jellybean smiled too then and wondered how Alice had become friends with this girl, she was definitely a year older than her and Jellybean and Alice had been in the same class.  
"Hey, you wanna help me clean up a bit?"  
She suddenly asked as a silence started to form between them. Jellybean looked at her in confusion as the redhead's eyes brightened, lifting the bag she'd been caring. Jellybean heard it rattle with something that sounded like cans. Spray paint cans perhaps?  
"Sure." Jellybean caught on and without thinking about it pocketed her phone again. Jellybean thought the stranger looked very pretty today, dressed in a purple frilly shirt and black and white spotted jeans. Her clothes did have the occasional splash of paint and Jellybean knew hers wouldn't be so clean anymore when they were done. She followed the beaming girl up the tree, her swing going backwards and forwards in the wind as she'd jumped of it. Her cares flying along with it.

Jughead was not going for a run, it was as simple as that. Jughead didn't do exercise. But he did do pop's. He headed there after breakfast, planning on meeting Betty there too later and he cursed himself for not getting his sister's number. But maybe she needed to spend some times by herself with the town.

He couldn't believe he hadn't remembered that the day he'd gotten his nickname was Nana's funeral.

He shook of thoughts of Jellybean and thought back to his novel. He wasn't sure what to write about next. There wasn't much left to say, he'd been trying for a while but nothing seemed relevant enough. So instead he'd began writing about Betty, Archie, Jellybean, his dad, anyone he felt close to. He told their stories, relationships, of their habits, anything really.

"Hey Jughead!"

He heard a call from behind him. He turned round and coming towards him was Archie Andrews. Oh, great, he thought, now I have to deal with this. He awaited his so called friend and stood with his arms crossed, then feeling stupid he uncrossed them again.

"Yes?"

He said as Archie came closer, dressed in running clothes and out of breath and sweaty. And to Jughead's frustration, a wide grin on his face.

"Hey, two Jones's in one morning."

He said and Jughead frowned, what was that supposed to mean?

"I pumped into Jellybean coming from Betty's house."

Jughead didn't say anything, he just stood there waiting. His sister's name sounded weird and unfamiliar coming from Archie's mouth for some reason.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Archie asked and Jughead saw it coming and nodded.

"It's okay Archie." He looked at him in confusion but Jughead just continued. "I know you thought you were protecting this town and that it was for the better and Hiram did trick you into a lot of it. And you've been apologizing for it since, me being a Serpent probably didn't help your judgement either but,"

He paused for a moment and really looked at his friend, a guy much bigger than him yet with that hopeful, pained look in his eyes he looked much younger, the same boy Jughead once knew.

"I forgive you Archie. And I'm sorry too."

He said and the worry faded from Archie's eyes, a wide, brilliant smile taking its place. He looked like he was wanted to hug Jughead.

"Thank you. I won't ever let you down like that again. I swear, I can't tell you how happy I am we can move past this."

Was all Archie said and before he really could hug him Jughead interviend.

"And I'm not going to hug you or anything else until you take a shower."

"Deal."

Archie said and continued his run as Jughead waved him off dismissively. Was forgiving Archie the right move? He'd had so much going on right now he hadn't really thought it through. But he felt such a relief at losing another problem to have to deal with. He thought he'd done the right thing, grudges never got you anywhere but in deeper misery. He wasn't going to make that mistake with Archie or his sister. He'd forgiven his dad and maybe someday he could his mom too.

Jellybean climbed through the hole to find the girl had hung up her bag from a hook she'd lodged between the planks of the roof. Smart, Jellybean thought as she approached the girl who was now beginning to empty the bag of its large content, pulling out spray cans, tubes of paint, palettes and brushes. And two tall silver flasks.

"What's in there?"

Jellybean asked as she watched, nodding to the flasks as the girl turned her attention to Jellybean.

"One's water for washing paint brushes and ones lemonade."

She explained as she turned back to unloading her bag,

"And yes, I've messed them up before, dipping the paintbrush in the lemonade and later absentmindedly drinking the water."

Jellybean laughed at her irritated tone and she gave Jellybean a short smile over her shoulder.

"I can relate."

She said and under her breath the redhead mumbled something Jellybean knew she was meant to hear,

"Hashtag artists problems."

She finished unloading her seemingly unending supply and turned to Jellybean, rubbing her hands together. Jellybean grinned at the gesture and the girl flushed a tiny bit.

"I'm sorry, I do this every time, even if I only use half of this stuff or not even need most of it. I finished those faces," she said, pointing to them on the wall behind Jellybean,"But I never did anything else, just in case, you know, I was intruding."

She said, her eyes going over the cracked paintings and yellowed walls and Jellybean knew it hurt to see it like this. So dead and lifeless. And she also happened to know exactly how to fix that. Without a word she grabbed a can of spray paint that had been labeled blue and testing it out first on a tissue out of the watching girl's bag before giving it a good shake and without another thought sprayed a line right across the faded blue sky painted over the wall. It wasn't quite the right colour and it was probably rather a reckless thing to do but it didn't matter, it was the point that mattered.

"All yours," She told the girl over her shoulder and a one sided grin creeped up her face. She rolled up her sleeves, Jellybean doing the same and tied pack her hair.

"Let's do this,"

She said, ever the dramatic and the redhead pulled out a notepad and pencil from her pile of stuff.

She gestured for Jellybean to sit beside her as she lowered herself to the plank floor. Jellybean followed curiously and watched as she flipped through the pages rapidly, pacing pictures of anything imaginable from plants to houses to animals to faces. She kept flipping until she landed on the page she was looking for.

It was a drawn and coloured in sketch of the tree house from the outside and as she kept going through the pages Jellybean saw she'd drawn out every wall in detail on its own page, faded paint and all.

"So, what's the plan?"

The girl asked, turning to Jellybean and the two began discussing.

"How about we have something that connect the whole room together?"

The redhead suggested, looking over the sketches and Jellybean nodded,

"Yeah, that's great, something each wall has."

"Sure."  
'Like mmhh, ooh, what about a colour. Like each wall has the same colour somewhere or something."

The girl wrinkled her nose a little and shook her head, not enough.

"Ohh, I know!" Jellybean said excitedly. "What about like from the floor up the room has long grass sprouting out. Like this."

She took the pencil the confused girl handed her and drew many blades of grass, each wide and going from the very bottom of the wall to under a quatre of the way up the wall. She drew the same blades on every wall, explaining how they would connect the room and give it a tree house like feeling. The girl nodded furiously in agreement.

"Yes, that's great but we keep it simple, not too many.."

"But not too little either," Jellybean finished.

"And we keep it light green and not too girlish."

"Of course,"

Jellybean agreed and they drew each blade out, some bigger and some smaller and high fived at the end result.  
"How about we keep the drawing of the trailer park but instead we shift the angle a bit, so it isn't a bird's view but from half way forward and halfway up and we can have the sunset there."  
She said as she drew and Jellybean nodded,  
"Only you can't see the sun but only the trace of it in the clouds."  
"Yes!" The girl exclaimed, leafing through her pad to different pages covered in clouds at different times of day and stages of a sunset. They picked their favourites and pulled them out, laying them out to see how they matched. They moved and shifted them around, playing with perspective and tried different shades of blues and pinks.  
They drew over the original drawn trailer on the paper as agreed, shifting the angle and making it much more accurate.  
They sat there for a long time, nobody keeping track, sipping lemonade and moving colours palettes around the room, trying to see how they'd fit and shouting suggestions at each other, scribbeling things down furiously. They each got pins and needles at least once from jumping up and down so much and did endless jump and jacks to shake them off. The other feeling too guilty to keep working and joining in.  
They drew and redrew every plan until it looked right. The floor was covered in pictures and papers and Jellybean and the girl wouldn't have it any other way as they jumped over weights and taped down papers to get around the room.  
Jellybean never wanted this to end and all her uncertainty and doubt of the last few days was replaced with determination, this was something she was good at. They discussed what they should paint, where to put it, how big. They thought of everything. And jellybean not once thought of her phone she'd simply stuffed in her bag.  
They kept all of the old drawings, planing relayering the paint and making some a little more elegant but never changing them. They decided on leaving the printed hand prints on the wall and decorating and surrounding them with flower and butterflies that flew from the newly drawn window to the trailer park on the connected wall. The tree house was once again becoming a fairy tale. The window was surrounded by old drawings and they didn't touch and a ruler measuring everyone's height who'd ever been in the tree house. Jellybean saw her own measurement marked many times over the years and felt sad she couldn't remember ever writing them.  
After a long discussion they decided on a world map to dawn the third wall but that still left the problem of what to do with the fourth one. It was the least important of the walls and you turned your back to it as you entered but still had the paintings of young Jellybean and Alice. To your left was the map, your right the trailer park and before you the window but still, it would be an obvious missing piece.  
"I got nothing,"

They both said and agreed to let it be as they began work around the room. They drew out the blades of grass, the window's flapping curtain and worked over and under one another, Jellybean crouching to reach the floor and the stranger bending over her to paint the sky. They worked around the room, drawing and painting and switching brushes and colours. Hours passed and they talked about everything and nothing, Jellybean catching up to the latest events in Riverdale but the stranger couldn't tell her too much since she was a northsider and saw everything from the outside looking in. They shared their interests, stories and Jellybean couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this free to let loose, to not think over what to say and just let it all out.

They painted out all their plans, adding the detail to the grass and the wood of the window with a fake view looking out over a forest far below.

Once most of their work was finished Jellybean moved to the middle of the room to look around her, admiring the blue sky on Riverdale's sunny side park, the clouds shades of blue and pink and white and purple. The towering grass and red planked floor, the freshened up paintings of Jellybean and Alice's adventures, once again in bright colours. And her favourite, the massive map stretched over the far wall with all the countries and places she'd ever wanted to visit, the places Alice and Jughead promised to take her.

"Where do you wanna go?"

She'd asked the stranger and she'd thought for a moment before saying, with a sly smile,

"Everywhere."

Jellybean had rolled her eyes as the girl continued colouring in Africa in a soft brown.

As she stood in the middle of the room the stranger got up from where she'd been crouching down and began admiring all their work too.

"Not bad at all Jellybean, not bad."

The stranger had never spoken her name before and she now realised she had no idea what the stranger's name was and the stranger didn't know her name either, not really.

As they'd worked, they'd been nameless, just two girls painting, without anything outside this little house and Jellybean was sad to see that go.

"Hey, stranger, you've got a smudge of something."

The stranger said as she turned to face Jellybean, pointing at her cheek.

"Like you don't." Jellybean said, referring to the wide smudge of purple of her forehead. The stranger shrugged and Jellybean said,

"And you're the stranger by the way, I don't even know your name."

The stranger smiled and held out her paint covered hand.

"Alice, nice to meet you."

She said with a grin and Jellybean just stared at her, no she couldn't be…

"I'm kidding." The stranger said, her smile turning cheeky, her hand still stretched out as she said,

"Zoe, Zoe Rivers,"

Jellybean shook her hand with her own mainly red hand, relief washing over her and said,

"Your name is amazing. I'm Jellybean Jones, lovely to meet you."

Zoe laughed, still holding Jellybean's hand.

"Why is it Jellybean, I mean, really?"

Had Zoe asked that a mere two days ago Jellybean would have been embarrassed but now she smiled,

"Yep, my brother chose it."

"Well, you have one hell of a cool name thanks to him."

Jellybean giggled and the two let their hands drop.

"Does your birth certificate really say Jellybean? Is that legal?"

Zoe asked as she sat by the hole, her legs dangling through it and Jellybean came to sit beside her.

"No, it's really Forsythia, but you call me that and I'll push you down the hole and say you slipped."

Zoe laughed again,

"Alright. But damn those are two special names. Why would you ever go by Jo?"

She meant it as a joke but Jellybean's smile faded a little,

"I guess I was ashamed but, I'm not anymore."

She said and noticing Jellybean's sad eyes Zoe places her hand on hers and slid a little closer. Jellybean smiled at her then looked at their hands, Zoe's dark skin a great contrast to Jellybean's light skin, both splattered with paint. Zoe squeezed tighter and Jellybean was impossibly grateful for the day they'd had together.

"Tell me about Alice."

Jellybean whispered and Zoe nodded.

"She missed you so much. She almost seemed to want to keep you here just by talking about you. She's still the same as you remember her, a little taller, her eyes a little lighter, a wonderful hazel, almost gold. Her skin still the same deep chocolate, darker than mine."

Jellybean hung to every of Zoe's words, each sounding like impossibly sweet dripping honey, she could listen to that voice all day. She loved to hear Zoe talk about her art and everything she loved but even the silence of their concentration or thoughts were light and comfortable.

"Why'd you choose red hair?"

Jellybean suddenly blurted out and Zoe laughed, her hand moving off Jellybean's to poof her hair up.

"Well, I didn't like my hair that much, it seemed too plain and colourless so I dyed it completely red, almost gave my mother a heart attack and when it began to fade she admitted to liking it so since then I've always had it just like this."

"It suits you."

"Thank you," Zoe said with a grin.

"Your hair is lovely too, it brings out your freckles."

Jellybean blushed a little and Zoe laughed again.

"Blushing does too!"

Jellybean pretended to scowl then grabbed a nearby paint brush and without thinking ran the brush right across Zoe's face. Zoe shrieked and then the two girls were on top of each other, splashing and squirting paint as each other but extremely careful not to get it around the room. They giggled and shrieked and by the end of it they were covered in every colour imaginable, out of breath and weezing on the floor. And suddenly Jellybean knew what to do with the bare wall.

"You know, you deserve a spot their too."

Jellybean managed and Zoe was laughed again or rather, she'd never stopped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Alice and me, the ones you drew, you should be there too. This place is yours too now."

"Thank you."

Zoe said and they continued painting. Zoe told Jellybean to hold still as she painted her, minus the paint splashed all over her next to the existing painting of a younger Jellybean. Jellybean was a little worried about painting Zoe. The two girls didn't have the same style and she didn't want to get it wrong but her fears were soon forgotten. They filled the whole wall with familiar faces of Riverdale. Jellybean drew younger and older Jughead, Zoe drew herself from an old picture and they each added their parents. Jellybean drew and painted her father as she'd always remembered him, gruf, sharp and scowling but with a hint of a smirk underneath all of that.

They finished the room and looked at each other, not sure what to do next. They were both covered in paint and before Jellybean thought it through she moved forward and licked her thumb before rubbing at the purple on Zoe's forehead.

"I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous,"

Jellybean said as she scrubbed, the purple paint leaking onto her fingers and Zoe stood very, very still. Jellybean finished wiping it off but didn't move back. Zoe was staring at her, right at her, no sly smile or side glances, she looked right at her, really seeing her. Jellybean could have grinned and moved on but she did the same, she watched Zoe, analysed every line of her face, every beautiful curl before landing on her eyes and she swore she would never be able to look away again. Her eyes were so bright, so alive, the colours of the room bouncing off them in unending rainbows. Her hand was back at her side but she could imagine it tracing Zoe's cute dimple, her rosy round cheeks. No one moved, Zoe didn't and Jellybean didn't either, they just stood there, an impossible moment hanging between them. And just like that it was gone again.


	16. sparks to fire

Chapter 16: Spark to fire

Jellybean blinked and looked away. What had just happened? What had she been thinking? She obviously hadn't been thinking, she'd been to busy staring at Zoe.

"Thanks a lot, Zoe I...I really had fun today."

She said smiling and Zoe shrugged, that familiar grin reappearing.

"No problem, I had fun too and I'm so glad I bumped into you here. You wanna meet here again or at Pop's sometime?"

She asked confidently and Jellybean had no idea what to say. Was she asking her out or just as friends? Whatever it was, she had to respond. But she couldn't exactly say,

'Sorry, I can't, I might kiss you', 'No sorry, I have a girlfriend.' 'No sorry, I'm too busy picking my life back together again.'

"I'd love that but not right now. I gotta deal with some family stuff first but I'll definitely see you on Monday."

Would she though? Maybe her mother would force her back by then or warn the authorities she'd run away. Or worse, accuse her father of kidnapping.

She drove those thoughts out of her head and realised, clearer than ever before that she had to check her phone and sort things out.

"Thank you,"

She said and Zoe nodded, a little sad and together they packed up all the stuff back in her bag. Jellybean pulled out her phone and twisted it around in her hand as they said their goodbyes and Zoe headed back to town, Jellybean plopping down onto her swing once again. She opened her phone with a thundering heart as soon as Zoe was out of sight and it wasn't so bad really. Her mom and a few people from school had tried to reach her but she'd only missed 5 calls. But nothing from Kath. She decided not to dwell on it and took a deep breath and started with the most important, her mom. She picked up on the first ring and Jellybean realised she had no idea how to start.

"Hey, mom, my phone died so I missed your call, what…"

She stopped. Was she just going to ignore everything and pretend as if nothing had happened? Act as if it were just another Tuesday?

Her mom wasn't sure what to do either obviously and there was a short silence where nothing was said.

"Hey, Jellybean I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and…And please come home."

Toledo wasn't home. Jellybean heard the wariness in her voice and knew she wasn't doing so well without her. It's not like she had to take so much care of her mother but more so that she kept her mother sane and kept her from being lonely, from missing her old life.

"Mom, I…I need to stay here for a little while longer. I've talked to Jughead and we're fine, I don't want to screw that up by already leaving and I want to get to know him again."

She didn't know whether to mention his involvement with the Serpents but now was probably not the best time.

"I ran into dad and coming here I never wanted to see him and that didn't go so well. But I want to give it a shot. Hearing him out won't hurt me."

"Honey," Her mother said, almost like she was scolding a child. "I kept you away from him for a reason, you have to be careful. No good can come from being around that drunk."

"Mom, Jughead said he's changed and I believe him, besides, whether I like him or not he is still my father and will never stop being that. I'm only fourteen, there's still lots of time to fix things."

Her mom didn't say anything.

"I will come home, soon. I won't stay here forever but there are just so many loose ends I need to tie up here first."

"Okay."

Her mother said, so softly she wasn't sure she'd said it.

"Mom," She took in a breath. "You didn't tell any child services or police or something I'd ran away and to come and get me, did you?"

She felt terrible asking but she had to know.

"No. Everyone…I told anyone who asked you were visiting some family, I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry about everything, with your brother and everything, I just thought…It would be best."

And Jellybean knew she meant it.

"It's okay mom, I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have run out on you like that. We should've talked about Riverdale and visiting more. I should've talked to you properly before leaving."

"No, no," Her mother said, "I would probably have talked you out of it and convinced you to stay and God knows when you'd see your brother again then."

"I know but still…"

Her mother sighed,

"Us Jones women are not very good at talking about this type of thing are we?"

She said and she was right. Jellybean always bottled everything up, sure she told Kath a lot but never what she felt, only the facts, her mother did that too. Her wall had been solid for too long and she'd just exploded at Jughead and that hadn't been fair on him. It was a bad habit she knew they both had to break.

"Mom, why had you been on the phone with FP anyway?"

There was a silence before she answered.

"For ages, I hadn't heard from him at all," She knew her mom wouldn't call him FP unless she had to. "I'd begun to think he had a new girlfriend unit he just suddenly called at 5 in the morning and I was so afraid it was an emergency or something had happened to Jughead or something. I heard a little about what that town was going through and knew it was a possibility. But then he asked what our plans were for the holidays and I knew it wasn't anything serious, just a sudden need to get his family together. But he kept saying that we were running out of time and it bothered me, I had no idea what it meant. It went on for a while but I hung up. But it seemed the damage had already been done. Ask him for me what that really meant, Little Bean."

Jellybean nodded, muttering an,

"Of course."

"Thanks, sweetie. Good luck."

Her mom said as goodbye. But before she could hang up Jellybean just needed to know one last thing.

"Have you ever thought of giving dad a second chance or getting custody over Jughead?"

It was a risky question she knew but she also knew they had to talk about these things more.

"Not your father, I knew it was already overdue when we left."

Not her, we.

"But your brother, of course, all the time. But I was afraid FP would accuse me of kidnapping you and….and I couldn't bear to lose you. I knew it was you or Jughead and I couldn't possibly take care of you both. I hate myself every day for forcing myself to chose but I knew it was more important to get you, the youngest. But backing out then and asking for the second child might have meant FP having both of you and only occasional visits if anything. I'm so sorry but as months and then years passed and no one came to get you back I thought it better to keep to the safe side. It was selfish of me but I couldn't risk it."

It didn't make any sense, why would her mom not get shared custody? She left her drunk, abusive husband to make a life for herself with her youngest child elsewhere. If anyone were to lose custody it would be FP. The most she'd done was leave her son. Right?

"Mom, that makes no sense, of course, you would get custody over both of us, you're capable, stable, have no criminal background and loving. You've never done anything to me."

Never had it come to that and yes, her mom had a stable job with a stable income, even though their house was definitely modest but mentally… Jellybean couldn't be a hundred percent sure.

"Not to you, but there are things I've done that everyone's forgotten about but would come up in a case like this. I can't face that kind of humiliation again, I….I can't have you….You should never know those things."

What? Jellybean had never heard of anything like that before. What had she done? Something so terrible that she'd risk never seeing her son again to keep it secret.

"Mom. What do you mean?"

Jellybean stuttered, her head spinning. At some point during the conversation, she'd stood up and now started walking without direction. Her mother sighed,

"Please baby, don't make me talk about it. I'm not proud of any of it and I'm not going to put any weight of it on your conscious or make you keep a secret."

How had this never come up before? Did mom really keep this much hidden, no wonder she snapped. FP had made so many mistakes, had done so much...Wrong. Had her mom too? Was she ever involved in the Serpents? A disturbing picture of her mother wearing one of those jackets on her back came to mind and she shook it off as suddenly as it had appeared. That wasn't possible.

"Goodbye baby, good luck."

Her mom said and hung up, leaving Jellybean frozen with her phone to her ear, wondering how much of her short life had been a lie or a pretty facade.

She signed and opened her phone again, she hadn't even walked ten steps from the swing and sat down in i again. She opened Kath's contact on her phone and like she'd done a million times before was about to press call when a thought accused to her. What was she supposed to say? With her mom the phone call had had some purpose, to say sorry for leaving and asking some questions but what about Kath? Kath hadn't called and Jellybean couldn't offer any new information other than how sorry she was and what had happened the last two hectic days but she didn't Kath would want to hear it. Maybe Kath was waiting for her to call, just to prove she cared what was going on back in Toledo. She guessed she could ask about the spreading news of the rumours regarding their kiss but…Did it even still count? She hoped their little fight hadn't meant the end of everything already but she wasn't about to try fixing or affirming anything over the phone. That had to be done in person and that wasn't an option right now.

Pros and Cons as to why she should call Kath kept floating through her head until she couldn't stand it anymore and decided she'd do it if there was something important to say only. Either way, not today. It was only 4, there was plenty of days left to spend time with her brother, they might even go out for dinner. She definitely needed more answers on the Serpents. But where to find him? She could guess where to look first.

She got up, bag underarm and began the walk back into town. She thought back to the phone call with her mom. The words seemed to float around her head like alarms, kidnapping, shared custody, losing each other, secrets, humiliation, and suddenly a thought, an idea came to her. It hit her like a spark, a small dim spark she almost dismissed but as she thought and thought the spark grew until a fire burned brightly and she knew it wasn't a stupid or naive thought but actually possible and she could actually do it. She kept thinking it through and knew it was worth a shot. Worth everything she had.

Jughead's day at pop's had been rather uneventful or at least unproductive. He'd written little, his thought too crowded with distractions and he knew he had a few things to settle with his dad who he was trying hard to avoid. He'd hated what Jellybean had told him and his dad but even more so the truth to it. What hurt most was that she felt that way, that she had felt that way for god knows how long. Grudges got you nowhere and got damn it, he was going to try and make it work between Jellybean and her dad. She might think she could just see him and that would be the end of it but only if she spoke to her dad would an actual solution arrive. He could do a lot but not everything, it, in the end, was up to them to make it work. It had taken him a long time to live at peace with his father but he'd changed so much, made an effort that perhaps it would come easier to them. But damn it, he knew the Jones's weren't good at talking. They blurted out angrily or held everything in and he wished they didn't. They might be able to be in the same room together if they could.

He looked out of the window, the blinking of the cursor still boring into him, demanding his attention. What did he want after seeing his sister here? To have her live here? To go back with her? To have them all live together here? He didn't know and it scared him because he knew he would only really know once he definitely couldn't have it.

His thought drifted further and further until they reached Betty. They'd spend the whole night talking, about Jellybean, about his mom, about their future and as she'd joined him in a booth at pop's he'd told her about the nicknames too. She'd smiled and taken his hand from across the table,

"I guess we have your sister to thank you don't go by a name like Forsyth, or something normal."

He'd looked at her sweet smile in fake offence, squeezing her hand.

"You don't like my name?" He continued his fake offence, making her laugh, the sound breaking his fake look into a smile. "What would you call me then?"

He'd enquired and she thought for a second, running her thumb over his knuckles before saying,

"I wouldn't have it any other way Juggy."

"Good."

He'd said with a grin, leaning forward to give her a kiss. She was surprised at the public display of affection but wasn't complaining.

"What could you call me?"

She asked once he returned to his seat, not changing the subject.

"Not Betty or Elizabeth or Betts but.."

She finished and he thought it over. What would be another good name to match the wonder before him?

"I don't know, Gwendolyn maybe, I've always liked that name."

Her face went complexity blank at his reply and he laughed,

"I'm kidding." She went Betty, always Betty or Betts and nothing else, except for…

"You will always be my Betty, my Betts or my Juliet."

She smiled happily at that before bringing the conversation back to Jellybean.

"imagine how different you'd be if Jellybean had stayed, we might not even be friends, let alone together."

Betty said, still playing with their joint hands. He'd always thought if Jellybean had stayed he might have turned out more like Archie. Confident, a jock, popular, sociable, a lot of friends but he knew he didn't want any of that. And what about all those nights at the drive-in, would they have ever happened? Would his father still have been a drunk or quite earlier?

"mmh."

He said as reply, not voicing the jumble of thoughts in his head. He wrote them down instead. Later when Betty left to help her mom at the newspaper he'd wrote down all his thoughts like he always did when his head was too crowded. He wondered what Jellybean was doing now and if he should go and find her. He couldn't call her, he'd never had her number and they'd always called through their mom's phone the few times they called. He wondered what his mom thought of all of this? Was she heartbroken? Was she going to come after her daughter?

He pulled out his phone again and opened her contact. Her name, not mom, stared up at him and no picture of course.

His thumb hovered over the button for a short second, remembering the last time he'd called. How bitterly he'd been turned down. He shook his head and made his decision.

Hey, tell me, what is your favourite length of a chapter? Words? Scenes? POVs? Tell me! (;

(Chapter 17: The game is afoot)


	17. The game is afoot

Chapter 17: The game isafoot

Yo, just to clarify this is still set between episodes 15 and 17 so it's like the events of the show from then onwards have been put on hold and this is what's happening in between. And even though there are 17 chapters so far this is still only day two for Jellybean in Riverdale. Thanks and please review or PM (DM) your suggestions and thoughts. Enjoy the long chapter as promised!

Her heart thundered and head span with thoughts as she quickened her step. She'd made a mess of a lot of things since coming to Riverdale and many years before that but this was one thing she was sure she could fix. All she had to do was talk to Jughead, her dad and then the school councillor or head master and keep her finger's crossed this would work. She half sprinted her way to Pop's and ran in, the bell ringing furiously as she scanned the room for Jughead and found him, all in two seconds flat. He was facing her way but wasn't looking at her, his computer open in front of him but on his phone. He was once again wearing his Serpent jacket Betty must have returned. She ran to where he was sitting but he didn't notice her and was just turning his phone off when she slid into the booth opposite him. He was obviously a little startled by her seemingly sudden appearance but pleased to see her.

"Right." She plunged right into without a hello, "I have an idea. But I need your help. And dad's. Especially dad. And mom can't know, not yet."

Jughead raised his eyebrows and said, too sweetly,

"Hello, sister dearest nice to see you too."

Before motioning her to continue. She told him the rough plan she'd come up with, adding new details and suggestions as she went along. He nodded thoughtfully as she spoke but seemed a little sceptical as her plan unfolded. He offered his own solutions to some issues with the plan and helpful suggestions too. He mentioned a lady called, McCoy who could help and was supposed to be very good but Jellybean had never heard of her. She must have come after she left.

They talked and talked and she pulled out her notebook to make a numbered list of things to do, things they needed and much more. As she spoke and wrote he waved over a waiter and ordered two vanilla milkshakes, still listening intently but she knew the hardest part was still to come.

"But when I called mom she confessed of never trying for shared cutesy for either of us because she said something would come up that might mean she'd lose me. Something from her past a court case like that would dig up. Something about something everyone had forgotten about but she couldn't stand the humiliation again."

She said, unsure how to word it and waited as Jughead seemed to turn the words over and over again in his head before finally saying,

"She didn't try to see me ever again because one of her secrets could have been resurfaced? That better have been a good secret."

He said without humour as Jellybean cast her gaze to the table.

"She said she hated herself for making herself chose a child, knowing she couldn't get away with taking both of us. She didn't choose me because she loved me more or thought of me as her favourite, you have to believe that. And it definitely wasn't just because I was a girl either but because I was the youngest. I was only 9."

"And I was only 10."

Her whispered after a second and her heart bled for him. She took his hands in hers, not knowing Betty had done the same only a few hours ago.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. To us. It wasn't fair. None of it was. That's why this plan is so important. And I really do love you. I love my big brother."

She said the last with a smile and was properly facing him again.

"I love you too."

He said, smiling and she couldn't remember the last time she'd heard those words or if she'd ever even told her brother that.

"Does mom?" He asked, swallowing hard. "Does mom love me?"

He didn't meet her gaze and she could see it was killing him to ask a question he'd probably been asking himself for the last five years but never could voice or ask anyone who might just have the right, honest answer. And Jellybean didn't know how to answer. A mom's love was supposed to be unconditional but a mom wasn't supposed to leave her child either.

"Yes," She said, "Of course she does. She wouldn't be so unhappy if she didn't."

She smiled a little but she knew he didn't completely believe her. And she wasn't sure either. She used to hate not being good enough to make her mom happy, to make her the woman she used to be. But perhaps that was just as well.

"But Jughead, you don't have to answer now but I have to ask. Why did you join the Serpents."

She knew this wasn't the best timing but there never would be for a question like that and she knew she had to shift the conversation of their mother for everyone's sake. He faced her then but there was no anger, no sadness in his dark eyes, only kindness and determination.

"There was just so much going on. The twilight drive in was closing, Pop was threatening to close, dad was being accused of murder, my friends lied and betrayed me. The terrible things going on drove me away from my friends and Betty and there always was the pressure of the Serpents because of dad. Every time I saw them it was like they were snakes, just waiting for me to come close enough to snap their jaws on me. But when I transferred to the South Side high school and there were Serpents like Sweet Pea and Tony. And the Ghoulies, our rival gang…"

He paused for a second, lost in the muddle of the past.

"I dismissed them all at first, believed I could make it on my own, still be more of a Northsider but after getting your first beating you quickly learn you need help, someone to back you up, someone to be your team, someone to greater the odds, be on your side, defend you, someone loyal to you. A family. So I did it. I became a Serpent and didn't regret it. It gave me a family again and made me closer to dad, easier to help with the trouble this town was in. Easier to protect Betty and my friends, just easier to be alive. But for a while, it pushed me further from Betty."

Jellybean couldn't believe all he had been through and this all couldn't have happened more than a year ago. And she could sconce there was more, much more to the story. Had Betty been disgusted by Jughead becoming a Serpent or was there more to it. What made her accept it.

"I understand," Jellybean said and meant it. He hadn't been a stupid boy jumping into his father's footprints carelessly, he'd been lonely, trying to protect himself and everyone he loved and help Riverdale. She could understand that. She could understand his loyalty. He hadn't just gotten the Serpent to cover his back, he was covering all their backs too.

He was obviously relieved by her answer but she needed just a little more…

"You never did anything…"

She wasn't sure how to finish. Illegal? Dangerous? Suicidal? But he understood well enough.

"Some."

He said and her heart dropped. Could the broken boy be becoming his father? She didn't believe that.

"But you have to believe me, I never killed or help kill anyone or cover up a body or anything like that. There was a crate of I don't know what I had to deliver as a favour and to keep Betty same from that bitch Penny. Then I cut her Serpent tattoo of her arm with a bunch of other Serpents holding her down."

He confessed softly and Jellybean kept her expression indifferent but couldn't help but look at him a little differently.

Jughead had cut someone's tattoo off, cut a piece of a woman's arm off and he didn't seem to sorry for it. It had been to protect his Betty to she guessed but there was more to it than that. Even if she probably deserved it.

"I shouldn't have done it I know. It was rash and reckless but she'd been cheating people for years, tricking them into favours they could never return. It was time she paid."

She was still holding his hand and didn't let go. To let go now would be to let go of him.

"It's okay Jughead, everyone's allowed to make mistakes. You were protecting Betty."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Of course."

She said smiling when another nagging thought came to her.

"But before I talk to dad I…I have to know, what did he do? What has he done to you or anyone else?"

She was almost afraid of the truth. Afraid that it was much, much worse then she'd imagined but she needed to know the truth if she wanted to be his daughter again. If she would accept him as her father.

Jughead took a deep breath, perhaps happy for the change in subject and said,

"He has done bad things, there's no getting around that but he's owned up to them, made them right and paid for them."

And he told her everything. Of Jason's escape car, the drugs, the jacket, the body and everything else, filling holed Zoe had left. He didn't only speak of his father but what the whole town was going through. Zoe had told Jellybean about the Serpent teens chaining themselves to their school but Jellybean had had no idea Jughead was involved with that too, and Archie. He told her everything that had happened in the last year, his and Betty's relationship, his book and Jellybean couldn't help but admire Betty's guts and bravery.

They stayed like that for a long time, shaping stories, getting to know the other's lives a little more by the minute. He asked her about Toledo and she'd told him the most memorable events. The saddest, funniest, best and worst memories, just like he had.

"Did mom ever have a boyfriend or something?"

He asked, getting another coffee. This was going to cost quite a bit. She shook her head at his question,

"There were guys, but never long or anything serious. Just flings as far as I know. Dad?"

She asked, curious. The woman opening her previous home in the trailer park had given her a fear for him moving on to another woman she hadn't know she had.

"No, no one." He said before adding after a moment, his tone unsure. "Although…There always seemed….Something between him and Alice. I'm not sure what."

Jellybean hadn't known what to expect but this wasn't it.

"What! Alice as in Betty's mom?!"

He shrugged and Jellybean made a disgusted face, not at the pairing but if…Jughead voiced her thought.

"Well, as long as they don't get married I guess I'd be fine with it."

She laughed,

"Yeah, you and Betty siblings. That would be a disaster no one would want. But even if they only lived together it would be the four of you under one roof."

Jellybean continued, grinning wide, Jughead grinning too.

"Well, at least your new mom wouldn't be a stranger." She said sarcastically and they both laughed again,

"Yeah well," Jughead said, turning the coffee cup before him on its sourcer. "Except for a few awkward breakfasts if they lived together I don't think it would be too bad."

They laughed and talked for two more milkshakes before Jellybean decided it was time to see her dad.

"OK. I'm going to find dad and talk to him, about the plan but first about…You know."

He nodded he did as she begun packing her stuff and rising.

"And I'll make it up to him about yesterday."

Jughead smiled, proud of his sister for, after everything he'd told her about her dad she going to give him a shot.

She was obviously nervous, fiddling with the strap of her bag that she seemed to drag around everywhere.

"Good luck sis."

He said and was about to let her go before remembering something that if he didn't do it know he'd be cursing himself for later.

"Oh, what's your number by the way?"

He said casually and she pulled out her phone and handed it to him as he did his. They both put in their number and nickname and handed the phone back to the owner. He felt bad about handing back her Nokia while he had an iPhone. She'd finished putting in her number much earlier then he had, while he'd still been fiddling with the tricky buttons. She'd laughed at his failed attempts, like the good brother he was, he'd ignored her but in truth, it was making him feel a lot less guilty.

"He's probably in the White Worm or at home."

He advised her.

"What does he do there?" She asked and he shrugged, half knowing.

"He works here a lot, he does Serpent things and Serpent business at the White Worm and whatever he wants and bills and stuff at home. But I really don't want you going to the White Worm, best to check at home first."

He said and she rolled her eyes, even if she was secretly pleased with a protective brother. A trait he hadn't lost since they were kids.

"I'll be fine, I'm a Serpent princess. I'm untouchable."

He snorted at her smirking, idol tone of voice.

"Not if they don't know you are you're not."

"Well, I guess I'll have to make myself known then."

She said, half kidding but not sure where the sudden confidence was coming from.

"It's time people knew JB is back in town."

She said dramatically, stretching the edges in a macho way that made Jughead roll his eyes. Even if the action made her look so much more like a Serpent then she realised.

"All you need now is a bike."

He muttered to himself and Jellybean didn't hear.

"Yeah, ha ha."

He said out loud and she grinned before turning around and leaving with a see ya. She walked out the door before coming back in again a moment later.

"Hey, is there a changing room?"

She asked Jughead and he visibly surprised by the question.

"The toilets are there."

He said, pointing to the door by the back. She nodded her thanks and strode through the scarily filled Diner to the back. She changed into the change of clothes from her bag in one of the cubicles. Namely a red shirt under her dark jacket and black leggings as she kept the same boots and her hair up in a high pony tail, the length of it brushing her collar bone. She admired herself for a second in the mirror before leaving, satisfied with her outfit.

She was looking just the part of a Serpent's daughter and sister and she didn't mind one bit. Jughead raised his eyebrows as he caught sight of her.

"Why'd you change?"

He asked and her smile grew.

"A Serpent princess should look the part."

She said and walked back to his booth. She pulled out a couple of notes and left them on the table, paying for their drinks.

"You know that's nowhere near enough."

He said, smirking and she gave him a nasty look.

"It's the thought that counts."

She said and headed for the door.

"Bye"

She said and strode out into the parking lot. She kept walking confidently before realising she had no idea where she was going. Of course, she was going to go to the White Worm first but she didn't know where that was. She hadn't even heard of the place before. The only thing she knew was that it must be on the South Side. It's a start she thought and headed for the invisible but very real border. Serpents were never Northsiders. It wasn't an official rule but she knew it to be true. She and Jughead where just in the middle really, they went to Northside school and had Northside friends but South Sider parents.

It wasn't a nice walk to South Side, all by the side of the road but she didn't mind. She plugged her headphones in and just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

When she crossed into the South Side it took a while for her or anyone else to notice. The houses looked the same, just like on the North Side but as you kept walking further and further into the South they gradually changed. Smaller houses started popping up between the bigger ones, more garbage and filth on the ground and overflowing bins, more graffiti covered the walls, more tattoo shops and clubs, more bikes and big jeeps parker everywhere. The people, the few that were on the street looked different too, gruffer, more used to poverty and street life than on the Northside, covered in tattoos and most belonging to some gang or another. A few in hoods and walking quickly with their heads down. Everything about this place seemed to scream to her, danger, danger.

At this point, anyone would have the sense to know this was a rough neighbourhood. The trailer park had been in the South Side, obvious from the people inhabiting it, almost all Serpents or South Siders at the very least. But it hadn't been in deep enough to be quite like this, still full of bikes but cleaner, with less graffiti and certainly no gang business.

She kept walking by the main road, remembering what Jughead had mentioned of the Ghoulies, the Serpent rival gang, she'd never heard of them but they probably walked these streets just as the Serpents did. Maybe fewer members, maybe more. These people she wouldn't be protected from, no matter who she was. She quickened her step and soon enough she came to a cross road. Not sure what to do or which way to chose she looked around and spotted an old lady walking her dog on the other side of the street. She looked completely out of place in a place like this. But as Jellybean crossed the street to approach her she noticed the tattoos covering the woman's arms. Funny actually, she thought, how she'd never seen an old lady with tattoos even though plenty of women get tattoos so they must exist.

"Excuse me. Sorry…I'm looking for the White Worm. Which way is that?"

She asked politely as she reached the old lady. The woman looked a little confused at her question before answering in a voice that sounded surprisingly young.

"Why would you want any business there with those nice manners I don't know but…You take a left here, two rights as you go down and the last left. From then one just follow the trail of bikes and you'll find it."

"Thanks."

Jellybean said and went left, chanting the directions as she walked, mumbling them out loud within a tune.

"Two right, last left, bikes. Two rights, last left, bikes. Two rights, last left, bikes."

And as she followed the directions she soon found herself standing before an old, small building that looked like a bar with 'White Worm' written in big letters at the top. She took a nervous breath and cleared her head before going the last few steps and heading inside. She was 14 and unattended by an adult going into a bar, she knew this was illegal. Gangs are illegal too she reminded herself and opened the door. Immediately the hot stuffy air and smoke of the room hit her and she wrinkled her nose in disgust and examined the place.

It was exactly like you'd imagine a gang hangout in a bar to look like.

The one large room was manly filled with men, on average around 40 or 50 or something and all wearing the same Serpent jacket as she'd expected. There were 3 pool tables in this room alone, one in the middle under a low hanging lamp and two more on either side of the bar. There were a few vending machines set against the wall with both games occupied by many people. There was a woman behind the bar right in front of her but what surprised her most was the bar on the platform in the room. There wasn't anyone on it know but just the thought that there ever was…

She looked away and wondered why they called the bar the White Worm and not the Green Serpent or something. Her thoughts were interrupted as her path was suddenly blocked. Her head picked up to speak as her thoughts spun frantically, thinking it was someone about to kick her from the bar or demand who she was or…

"Excuse me."

He said sternly and it accused to her he only wanted to get passed. She moved to the left and he passed without giving her another glance, the cold air blowing in through the opened door as she continued her way further into the bar, looking for her father. which turned out to be quite a challenge.

She thought she'd seen him many times but every time it had always been some other man of similar built or hair colour with the same jacket. More people were starting to notice her, many not caring and too immersed in their games but others stared her down. She was about to give up or ask someone when she heard a voice she recognised from behind her.

"Hello, Princess."

As Jughead watched Jellybean's disappearing figure he was grateful he hadn't called his mother. It was best to hear everything from his sister, he didn't think he trusted his mother anymore. He liked her plan and was happy she'd been the one to think of it, an actual solution and hadn't been naive to think anything else would work, but there wasn't a hundred percent guaranty this brilliant plan would work.

It was a long shot, they both knew that and they still had to figure out what mom's secret was. But at least they had hope.

He wondered how serious the secret was. Would it affect or have anything to do with him, Jellybean or his dad? Was it worse than what he had done or the type of secret that really should be kept hidden?

He reopened his laptop he'd closed when his sister had begun talking and opened the search engine. He tried keyword after keyword, mashing them. 'Sadie Jones' Nothing but an article she wrote about her profession, 'Sadie Maria Jones' Nothing but her Facebook page. His fingers hovered over the keys as he tried to think of something. 'Sadie Jones Serpents.' Nothing. 'Sadie Jones crime', still nothing. He searched and searched but still, he couldn't find anything.

He gave up and instead typed up the plan Jellybean had scribbled out with him, adding some final details. He finished and thought back to Jellybean.

He didn't like the idea of his sister going into the centre of the South Side, the White Worm of all places and picked up his phone. He knew he shouldn't but he'd rather Jellybean mad at him then her getting hurt. He called Tony first, thinking some female companionship might be best and Tony was a well-respected Serpent no one would mess with. But she didn't pick up, God knows what she did on a Saturday late afternoon.

He called Sweet Pea next, perhaps not the most delicate of people of good people to have around his sister but he knew how to get things done. But only if he could get something out of it. Besides, he wasn't sure who else to trust.

Sweet Pea picked up at the last ring, Jughead's finger's already strumming the table impatiently and Sweet Pea wasted no time with hellos or small talk.

"What?"

Sweet Pea said, not pleased with the phone call obviously.

"It's Jughead, I need you to do something for me please."

"I do too much for you already." He grumbled and Jughead scoffed,

"Like what?" He replied impatiently.

"Fine, what do you want."

Sweet Pea said after a minute, clearly unsuccessful to find an example. Jughead grinned. The sucker.

"My sister, she headed for the White Worm I'm sure and I need you to beat her to it and just watch her back. And don't tell her I sent you. She's looked for her dad, nothing else."

He snorted,

"No one comes to the White Worm for any reason other than trouble, fun or business."

Jughead ignored him and pushed him to agree to his request.

"Yes or no Sweet Pea?"

"I'm not your babysitter," Jughead said nothing, just waited. "What do I get out of it?"

"A favour," Jughead said knowing exactly what he was going to say. "You need a job done or some help, I'll do it. Within reasons."

"Deal."

Sweet Pea said and hung up without another word.

Jellybean turned around, predicting who she would be facing in a second and she was right. There stood Sweet Pea.

"Hey," She said suspiciously. "What do you want?"

He only grinned, his arms still crossed and came close to her.

"Nothing, just curious as to why you're here."

"Looking for my dad. You?"

He shrugged,

"Hanging out. Playing a game or two."

"Aren't you a bit young to be hanging out in a bar?" She said, stressing the 'hanging out' sarcastically.

"Speak for yourself."

"I'm not hanging out, I'm looking for my dad. You can't even drink here."

He didn't say anything but scowled and stood a step closer to her so they were almost, almost chest to chest. He tried to use his towering height to intimidate her but she only grinned at her victory, pleased with herself and he just snarled. She looked him up and down very unimpressed and was about to turn on her heel to continue her search when he said,

"I'll show you where your dad it."

She was visibly surprised by the offer even if the tone had been anything but friendly. He was still standing far to close to her.

"Oh, um, thanks. Thanks a lot."

She said and he walked right around her and walked further into the bar, not waiting to see if Jellybean would follow.

This hadn't been in Jughead's instructions he knew but, what the hell, he thought, he wanted to see how a Serpent Princess would change the game."

They were only a few steps further in when a man began approaching the pair. Jellybean had almost ran right into Sweet Pea's back as he'd suddenly stopped, too distracted by her surroundings and she didn't recognise the man Sweet Pea had stopped for. But Sweet Pea clearly did.

"Who's the girl?" The man asked Sweet Pea, not even glancing at Jellybean, "Too young to be your girlfriend I'm sure. She a new member or up for initiation? Seems a little young to me."

"Neither." Sweet Pea said and she wasn't sure what else he was going to say. A lie or the truth? She found out quickly, "Jughead's sister."

Sweet Pea finished. The man looked at Sweet Pea in surprised and finally looked at Jellybean.

"Oh yeah, that's right. He did have a daughter. I'm almost forgotten"

He said and gave her a nod of greeting or perhaps it was one of recognition or welcoming before disappearing into the crowded bar again.

"Was that really necessary?"

Jellybean whispered to him forcefully as they started moving again.

"What did you want me to say?" He said in a bored, flat tone. "He'd know I was lying soon enough and you don't look anything like me so couldn't pass as my sister. Would you have preferred it if I said you were my girlfriend?"

"Ew no. Something like your cousin from Sweden or whatever would have been fine. And what did you mean, he'd know you'd be lying soon enough?"

"Exactly as I said." He said as he began ascending the stairs at the back of the bar. She hadn't realised there was a second floor to this place. "His daughter being back in town is good news. A second heir to the Serpent throne and that shit."

She didn't say anything and thought his words over in her head as they reached the top. He lifted his hand to knock on the door before them but she stopped him.

"Wait." He turned to her, annoyed. She ignored him and asked, "Jughead and I are heirs to becoming the Serpent leader, right?"

He nodded, "Then why would he need me, Jughead is already a Serpent, it's sure to happen?"

She said and he shrugged and knocked, not answering her question. He didn't wait for any reply and started defending the steps, she scowled after him as he'd left her stranded on her own. Jellybean hadn't expected him to guard the door while she was inside but this was nothing short of abandonment, he could have waited for the door to open. Then again, why would he?

She heard footsteps from the other side of the door and heard them becoming louder as they approached her. She waited with anxiety until the door was finally pulled open. FP had opened it, a scowl on his face, annoyed at being interrupted but at the sight of Jellybean his arm on the door slackened and his face fell into a sadder one and he was obviously surprised at seeing her. He wasn't sad she was here but more so that she was here in the White Worm and after everything, she'd told him yesterday.

"Hey, dad. I came to say thanks for dropping my bag off at the Cooper's for me and…and sorry. May I come in?"

He nodded, still not saying anything and opened the door to let her in. She took a deep breath and dared a step inside.

It was a small room, obviously, an office with cupboards and shelves full of stuff, a wide desk with a simple chair behind it and a simple blue plush carpet. She wondered what her father did in here.

He didn't sit behind his desk but instead took the seat by the big window on the right side of the room. She took the seat he offered her wordlessly opposite him, quite a distance between them. A comfortable one. But still it felt too formal, like an appointment but a booth at Pop's would have been much worse. She couldn't imagine a man like her father fitting into a place like Pop's.

She started talking because if she didn't do it know she'd lose her nerve or FP might start accusing me or apologizing, throwing her completely off.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I was angry at you for something you did years ago and I do believe people can change. Of course, I do, only children think anything ever stays the same for long, even people. I shouldn't have said those things to you.

Coming here I didn't want anything to do with you and never wanted to see you again. If we hadn't met the way we did we might never have but being here made me realise there was so much more left for me to fix then my relationship with Jughead. And I'm only 14, of course, I still need a relationship with my father. Years it was like you and Jughead were dead and we were left mourning you but you were only ever an hour away. Of course, I should see you, talk to you, get to know you and not avoid you and turn you down when we can still fix things. I talked to Jughead and he told me everything and…and I forgive you, dad.

I forgive you for doing what you had to to make money for our family. I forgive you for becoming a Serpent and everything that ever happened since then. I am so, so proud of you for becoming better. For being a better father and a better man. For not giving up on the Serpents and us, me and Jughead. So proud you're making an honest living, to confess to murder just to keep your son safe. To quit drinking for him and getting him into a better school then he could ever get on the South Side. To give him a laptop so he could write all the stories he used to tell me as a kid. Jughead, he thinks so highly of you. He really does. You should have heard him talk about you and all you've done for him. He is so proud of you too.

And I'm so, so grateful you tried to get me back over and over again, never giving up. That even after five years you were still fighting to fix things. That you didn't move overseas to forget about us and move on. And thank you for letting mom and I go, for not sending the police after us, for not accusing mom of kidnapping, for not forcing us back. Coming back here was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. And I'm not going to pretend one visit is going to fix five years of separation but it's a start. "

She'd begun sniffling as she'd talked but now she was full on crying, tears falling uncontrollably as the words kept tumbling out. She never once took her eyes off her dad, whose own eyes were reddening too. All her mother's words had left her and she was now speaking no one's but her own. How she was proud of her dad and was grateful.

She was doing something her mother never could, something she'd learnt from watching her mother to never to do either. She confronted her obstacles, didn't run from them, she spoke her mind and she forgave. She took her own wall down brick by crick by forgiving, talking about herself and learning to understand why people did the things they did, to understand what they were going through, what they needed to hear.

She wasn't her mother, she wasn't her brother and she wasn't her father either, she was her very own mind. She was she. She was Jellybean Jones, Forsythia Jones, Jo Jones, and JB. She was she. And it had only taken two days and coming home for her to realise that.

"Thank you for welcoming me back with open arms and I'm sorry, so sorry I turned you down. But I'm ready. I'm ready to be your daughter again if you'll have me."

She finished and he didn't say anything, he simply stood up quickly and half ran to her as she stood too. He wrapped her into his arms, pressed her to him and hugged her in a way every girl deserved to be hugged by their father. She wrapped her arms around him and held him just as close, breathing him in just as he did her. This was what family was. Forgiving and loving, giving new chances and letting go of past mistakes.

"Thank you Jellybean, thank you so much for coming back. For coming to me. For wanting to see me. I don't deserve your forgiveness and will spend the rest of my life making everything up to you, for driving you and your mother away, for pushing you away from your brother. I love you so much JB and I missed you so, so much I can't believe you are actually here. And of course, of course, I want you to be my daughter again, you'll always be my girl. I'm so sorry for everything I've done and I'm the luckiest man on earth to have a daughter like you who could find it in her heart to forgive me, who could possibly be proud of a man like me. I'm so proud of you too Jellybean. For coming here by yourself and fixing things that you could have left behind you. I'm so impossibly proud of you. You wouldn't know."

He said, all the while still hugging her, his hand stroking her hair. Her head was against his chest, fresh tears threatening to pool over into the warm sweater beneath his open jacket.

"I love you too dad."

She mumbled into his shirt, so softly she was afraid he might not have heard so she said it again, but he'd heard it the first time. He held her even tighter and thought those might have been the three most wonderful words you could ever hear from the people you love, the people you've wronged and fight for to make it up to them. Three words he hadn't said or heard enough in his life.

Eventually, the two broke apart and not knowing what else to do he handed her a tissue and asked if she wanted anything to drink. She'd nodded as she'd whipped her eyes.

"An extremely weak Late please,"

She requested and he smiled at the choice of drink, such a contrast to his and Jughead's black, black coffee.

"Sure thing."

He said and headed out into one of the side doors to get them their drinks. His absence gave her the time to look around the room properly and freshen up a bit. She looked around and inspected the framed pictures on his desk closely. Most of them were of Jughead, him as a 6-year-old than 10 and then 15. In each one he was grinning at the camera but in the last, he looked so much thinner, so much older, not just because of the year gap but she guessed that's what happened to people who'd gone through too much too fast. She picked it up, tracing her finger over it sadly. She looked at the other pictures too, there were plenty of her too. One where she was covered in makeup, smudged all over her face, inches away from the camera and pulling a silly face. She laughed at the silly five-year-old-self looking at her and put it down again just as FP returned with their drinks.

He handed it to her and sat in the same spot by the window, offering her the spot just beside her. She took it with a smile and they both started talking about their lives. Jellybean told him about school, her hobbies, what her teachers were like, what she did in Toledo, fun times with Kath and FP listened to every word. He asked all sorts of questions like a father would and for the second time that afternoon Jellybean talked and talked, more then she had perhaps done in the last two months combined. And for the first time in a long time FP had stories to listen to, he had his daughter to listen to. Jughead had never been very talkative to his father about school and stuff and what he was up to but Jellybean wasn't like that, she shared every detail FP asked for and he was impossibly happy for it.

She told him about more recent events too, meeting Jughead again, staying at Betty's, breakfast at Betty's and her day in the tree house. She waved her hands about as she described every wall until he could just picture it. He didn't say much about himself but she didn't mind, she was simply happy he was interested in her and her life. He also asked about her mother and she told her what she could without imposing on her mother's privacy too much. She knew eventually she had to raise the subject of the plan but first she just had to make sure he was worth it, even if she'd already figured that out the moment he'd opened his door for her and hadn't slammed it shut. Jughead and Jellybean had decided they'd tell no one of the plans but FP, the other parent would have to be kept in the dark for now.

"But I didn't just come here to talk with you about my life and stuff. Jughead and I actually want to tell you something…"

He looked a little confused and worried but nodded for her to go on. So she did. She told him every last detail, every step she and Jughead had disgust and finally asked if he knew what her mother's secret might be. He thought and thought, his eyes closed as if he was playing tape after tape of his wife's behind his eyelids, searching for the secret in them and face crushed up in concentration.

"She wasn't a Serpent was she?"

Jellybean asked, leaning against the desk instead of pacing the room like she'd been doing since explaining the plan.

He shook his head as answer and she couldn't help the wash of relief flooding through her, at least that was something she thought. A few more minutes past and FP came up empty-handed.

"Sorry Jellybean, I really don't know, wish I did though. I've never seen her criminal record and she never my own and I don't think she'd even have told me a secret like this unless it happened at the very beginning of our relationship or somewhere around when we had Jughead. Even long before we split up as it were she stopped sharing things with me, started keeping secrets instead. Or maybe this isn't anything criminal but something else or maybe even a long line of secrets."

"She would do anything to keep her secret obviously so it must be big." Jellybean said and he nodded before continuing,

"Exactly. But since she's do anything to keep it a secret she could have lied to make you feel guilty and not push her. It might just be one selfish secret that would only affect her or land her in jail. I don't know."

Jellybean hadn't thought or even considered that her mother had lied but maybe she had. Maybe that's why she'd only just learnt of the secret because her mom had lied so well it had never come up.

Jellybean's head was too full, she didn't know what to think of anything anymore.

"So you don't know what it is?" She asked, just to clarify and he shook his head. "That's fine. I'll call her again and if she doesn't tell me she might accidentally give something away or give us at least a hint either way. You're on board with the plan?"

He nodded.

"Absolutely. Tell me my part and I'll do it. You've got the whole Serpents behind you too. She nodded, thanking him for the offer, though she doubted she would ever need to use it. Or prayed she didn't anyway.

"I'm just worried the secret will affect me, you or Jughead. Should we still go on with the plan?"

She asked after a long pause, biting her nails and waited for the response. That had been the one thing Jughead and jellybean hadn't been able to get around or decide. Whether they should continue not knowing the plan, risk it being something unimportant to the case.

"I'll do all I can to find it out but I say go for it."

She nodded, feeling much more reassured.

"I guess you're right, we'll stick to the plan. I'll go to the councillor, it'll look like a better request coming from me then anyone else and we go to Mc Coy next if the school won't help and then I'll call mom. If it comes down to it, a lawyer can reveal her secret."

FP agreed, nodding.

"Dad, am I actually registered into school here because if not, this definitely won't work."

"Yeah, of course. I filled out the paperwork and got my own and your mom's signature on the paper declaring you part of the school the duration of your stay in Riverdale."

"Mom's signature!" She'd guessed those types of papers might have requested it but had her mother actually signed? "How on earth did you get her to do that?"

She asked in astonishment and he shrugged,

"I didn't. I've been forging her signature for years or rather, a retired Serpent in Toledo has."

Jellybean's mouth fell open, this was how he'd managed it. Mom had had no money when arriving in Toledo and yet her school was being paid for, FP must have done it. But how could her mom have accepted charity form the man whose daughter she'd just stolen she didn't know. Over the last few hours, her mother had slowly begun becoming more and more of a stranger to her.

"Thanks, dad, for helping so much and asking so little in return."

"Hey, it's the least I could do to make up for something I ruined. It's the only way I know how to."

Jellybean smiled at her father, still seated at the window when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She opened it to find a text from Jughead.

'Hope time with dad was a success. I'm emailing you the full plan in a second."

And just as she read it popped up on her notifications. She opened it and read the whole thing out loud, just so it would stick and they both knew every part. They both decided that would be enough for the day as she finished reading it out.

"Now I'm taking the three of us out for dinner."

He declared, rising from his seat.

"I didn't realise how late it was."

She said, watching the setting sun from his window and pulled out her phone for a more accurate time.

"Yeah, goes quickly doesn't it?"

He said as he was pulling his jacket back on that he'd removed somewhere in their conversation and slung over his chair. He opened the door for her and walked out behind her.

"Hey, where are you staying for the night?"

He asked, casually as he was locking the door behind him. She waited for him at the top of the stairs and said,

"This bag is getting annoying to carry around everywhere so if you'll have me. I'll stay with you. I'll come back home."

"Well, sweetie, it's not exactly like…"

He started and she stopped him.

"I know. I've seen it. It's smaller but I don't mind. What did you do with my stuff by the way?"

"I kept it for a while." He said as he began descending the stairs behind her. "But when we moved there was no space for it so I gave it to people. Don't worry, I didn't sell anything or let anyone take it. Alice I gave some of your books for her little sister, the Davis family got a few of your sniffles and your cousins some of your tolls and play mobile, the rest went to Serpent kids who owned next to nothing. You met Tony right?"

She nodded but didn't say anything. He was speaking carefully as if afraid to upset or offend her.

"Well, she actually has one or two of your bunnies. Kids from your and Jughead's class who had siblings or young family nearby were given whatever was left over but most did go to your friends and the South Side. I held on to all your stuff for when you come back but after a while, I knew, no matter when you came back you'd outgrown your stuff already. I hope you don't mind I gave it away."

She turned on the stairs to face him.

"No no, of course not. That was the best and only thing you could have done with them."

He grinned, relieved and she continued her way downstairs. She started walking towards the front of the bar, back out again once she reached the bar floor again but was stopped in her tracks by her father's booming voice.

"Listen up!" He called, standing on the last step of the stairs, gaining every last person in the room's attention. "Meet my daughter, Jellybean Jones returned to Riverdale!"

He called and everyone cheered and whooped, fists in the air or, as she noticed a few of them were with their second and third finger bent and up in the air as if a Serpent's fangs. Every head turned to her but she wasn't embarrassed or nervous by all the attention, she was proud. She simply grinned at all of them, hands in her pockets, feeling like a long lost princess which in ways she was. The few that had personally known her or were polite enough to introduce themselves came up to her to say hello or welcomed her. She was a little taken aback by some of their names, Sweet Pea she'd found weird but names like Fangs, Midget and Sugar pie weren't any better. A few had known her as a child apparently and told tales of her as a sputtering little baby in a pushchair. FP of course never brought her to this place but she'd been to South Side parks and stuff aplenty.

Just as everyone turned back to whatever they'd been doing before and the conversation picked up again one last person approached Jellybean.

"Hey, JB." She said, tapping her on the shoulder. Jellybean turned around and saw Tony standing there, grinning and looking incredibly hot in her tight black and green outfit.

"Didn't want to pounce you with it earlier but thank you. I know FP gave them out but it was your stuff and I still remember that day. I can't remember what it was, somebody's funeral or birthday party but all us Serpents and Serpent children were there. I was 13 and FP came in last, accompanied by no one and empty-handed except for one massive box. He came in, a large grin on his face, ruffled my hair and bend down by my chair, offering me the box. I pulled the flaps open and it was completely stuffed with teddies and stuffed animals. He told me to take one so I took my favourite, a big white bunny with long, pink ears and never got rid of it….If you'd like I could give it back to you or…."

Tony began and Jellybean interrupted her,

"No no, of course not. Keep it, keep it or give it to another child. Either way, it's no use for me, it's yours really, you've had it longer than I've had. But thank you."

She said and Tony's face lit up in a brilliant smile.

"Thank you," She said and gave Jellybean's hand a squeeze before heading back into the crowd. Jellybean turned around again and headed for the door where her father was waiting for her.

"Ready to go?"

He asked and opened the door as she nodded. They walked out into the parking lot with no cars parked in it but more than fifty bikes set by the entrance. He started heading for what she guessed was his bike. She wasn't surprised they were going by bike but she was surprised at what he said next.

"Now, I've taught Jughead, Jughead's taught Betty so I won't have my own daughter not being able to ride a bike."

"You want to teach me know!?" Jellybean asked, shocked.

"Of course!" He said and patted the saddle of his bike. "Have a seat, I'll work you through it."

She hesitated.

"I'm I not too young?"

"Nonsense! Jughead learned when he was 14."

Good Lord Jellybean thought and took the seat on his bike clumsily. It was soft but a little uncomfortable beneath her obviously too small legs.

"No helmet?"

She asked, not seeing one anywhere, her voice much higher than normal.

"Serpents don't wear helmets."

He said but Jellybean wasn't giving up that easily.

"But Betty she…"

FP interrupted her.

"Betty's no Serpent. Not yet anyway."

He said, she ignored the last bit and said,

"But what if I fall off?"

"You won't. Helmets are for people who know they'll fall off. You planning on falling off?"

She doubted that was true but shook her head.

"Good," He said and kneeled down beside the bike, pointing and telling her how things worked, how to put the bike into gear, how to start the engine, how to shift gears and how to stop. She followed his instructions, running the steps over in her head and tried it once, twice. He warned her she might jolt a little and she'd nodded, ignoring his comment to relax and gripping the handles tightly. Naturally, the third time she tried she shot forward with a jolt and let out a yelp. He helped steady her again, gave her some extra instructions as she nodded along and tried again and again until finally, she got it. She put it into gear and moved forward smoothly but this time a few feet wasn't enough.

"Pick up speed!"

He told her and she looked down, slightly panicking as she fiddled with the gears and switches.

"Don't look down!"

She heard her father call, his voice sounding more and more distant. She took a deep breath, keeping her breathing regular and calm as she looked straight ahead of her again and without thinking about it she did it. She sped up and didn't stop, she just kept going faster and faster. The exhilarating feeling of it was extraordinary. She'd never felt so alive in her life. This definitely was one of the most illegal things she'd ever done but she didn't care and not once did she look over her shoulder. This, this was living.

She didn't look back once, she just kept going forward but the end of the parking was coming closer and closer. She could break, FP had made sure she could do that most of all but what would be the fun in that. She'd watched Betty do it, watched what her hands did, how she moved her body, shifted her weight and turned flawlessly. FP hadn't shown her how to do it but she was daring to try it. She felt the need to close her eyes and wait for it all to be over but she pushed through it, she was going to do it but she couldn't go in blind. She thought back to the exact same movements Betty made and did it. She relaxed but held on steadily and then she was falling, falling, closer and closer to the ground and then she was turning, she didn't straighten up as early as Betty had but instead kept going until finally she'd done a 360. She didn't dare whoop in victory just yet and she straightened up slowly, picking up speed again as she was heading for FP again. She noticed he wasn't alone anymore and instead was accompanied by a small crowd of Serpents, all watching her. And once again she did not mind the attention.

She came closer and closer to them and knew this would be the best moment for a dramatic end. She didn't slow down as she came closer until she was sure she was going to ride into her awaiting dad. She breaked and came to a rolling stop just inches away from FP's foot. She balanced the bike with the tops of her toes to the floor and looked up to FP's proud face right before her. She was breathing hard yet still grinning like an idiot as a complete silence fell over the entire crowd. That is until her father put his hands together into a slow clap that filled her with joy and soon the whole crowd joined in, clapping and cheering to Jellybean's success as she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. As the cheering started to die down FP spoke to a woman standing beside him.

"What ya think Sam, better than Jughead's first time?"

The woman he'd addressed, Sam, smiled, her teeth on full show.

"Undoubtedly."

She said and the crowd cheered again before they all filled back into the bar one after the other until it was just FP left standing before Jellybean still on her bike. She was as good as a Serpent to them already.

"There you go Jellybean. Told you-you could do it. Let's go."

He said and she got off his bike as he took it from her.

"Text Jughead to meet us at Pop's," he told her and she nodded, doing so. After she hit send a thought occurred to her and she turned back to Jellybean.

"I'm biking there by myself aren't I?"  
He nodded,

"Then what bike do I use."

FP ran his eyes over the bikes parked and shrugged.

"Pick the smallest one and see if it's unlocked. Use this to pick it if necessary. And you know how to start it."

She nodded and caught the pick he threw her and looking around the bikes until she found the smallest one and wasted only once second wondering who's bike it was and it was luckily unlocked. Two days and she'd committed more crimes than she had in her lifetime. She was just getting onto the bike when her father said,

"Hey Jellybean, you really meant all that stuff you said, the plan, staying with me and everything else?"

He was trying for casual but she could see how scared he was. She looked at him and nodded,

"I really do, dad. No backing out."

She promised and he smiled and she knew those words had meant the world to him. She pocketed the lockpick and whooped in triumph as she got the bike started by herself. She ran his instructions over and over again in her head and soon enough they were on the road and underway to Pop's. They drove carefully, slowly, not wanting to push it on Jellybean's first day and luckily hardly any car passed to notice a 14-year-old girl on a man's bike. As she rode she felt a kind of freedom she hadn't felt in so long. She'd done it. She'd come to Riverdale, made things right with her brother and father and was now riding a bike. If she could do those things, she could do anything.

The game, as Sherlock said, is afoot.

Can you guess what the plan is about? Shoutout to anyone who can guess correctly!


	18. Strangers meet in the dark

They arrived at Pop's and found the pace full of people but not Jughead. Many turned their heads at the sight of father and daughter reunited but no one said a word to them. Gossip travelled fast in Riverdale and this news had done the same. They strode through the rest of the dinner with a sense of being watched and took one of the few booths still free and waited for Jughead. Jellybean was just about to suggest calling him when she noticed a distinctive red head in the cover of her eyes which was soon accompanied by the clicking of heels. And soon enough Cheryl Blossom was striding towards them and came to a step just before their table. She opened her mouth to speak and jellybean couldn't be sure if a mean or kind comment would leave her thick, red lips.

"Father and daughter reunited again it seems. Congratulations."

She said and turned back on her heels, heading back the way she'd come before Jellybean couldn't get in anything more but a simple thank you. Jellybean watched her walk to the other end of the diner, many eyes, male and female upon her until she slipped into a booth beside an awaiting Toni, both girls visibly smiling at one another from where Jellybean sat. Cheryl hadn't seemed resentful or sarcastic but had her comment been completely genuine? Jellybean wasn't sure.

"Hey, I'm just going to give Jughead a call." She said after the waiter came to get their order and after FP's agreeing nod she headed outside, phone in hand, leaving her bag in her seat. She opened his contact, noticed that he'd given himself a most ridiculous name. She rolled her eyes at it before pressing 'call'. He picked quickly and Jellybean was about to start when he beat her to it.

"Hey!" He shouted way too loud and Jellybean pulled the phone away from her ear in a startle.

"Why ya shouting!" She accused him, almost shouting. "Sorry, I'm on my bike. What is it?"

He asked, still shouting but not as loud. Calling an biking was definitely not a good idea but she had to tell him about their father. Urgently.

"Jughead, I spoke to dad."

"How was it, you weren't too hard on him were you?"

"No, in fact, I wasn't planning on it or anything, not really but when I came face to face with him I forgave him. I told him I forgave him for so many things, that I was proud of how much good things he'd done but I didn't mention some things I could never forgive him for."

"That's okay Jellybean. I can't forgive him or mom for everything either. I'm sure even normal kids can't do that."

Normal kids. It didn't matter if we had magical powers we simply weren't normal kids because of our family.

"I know, but it's not just that. You've told me a lot about dad but I just need to know one thing…"

She bit her lip nervously.

"What is it Jellybean?" Jughead asked, no longer shouting.

"How did dad treat mom?" She hesitated a second before adding, "Did he h….Did he ever hit her?"

She heard him take a deep breath before answering. And when he did he spoke softly, the wind wiping at his words.

"Jellybean…I remember what you said but I don't think he ever did, I know you mentioned it yesterday but you seemed so upset and tired I didn't want to push you or argue anymore so I let it go. But I have a lot of bad memories of five years ago that I could never ever forget and I would never have forgotten or forgiven dad if he really had, even once hit her. I'm so sorry you thought that."

He seemed so sure, but her mother….

"Wait, you're saying he never hit mom?"

Jellybean said unsurely.

"That's right."

"You think…Do you think mom could've lied about a thing like that? She told me…"

Jellybean mumbled confused, once again wondering if she really knew her mother and what to believe and not believe.

"To keep you from running back, to keep you faithful to her maybe, as horrible as it sounds."

He said and she just couldn't say anything in return.

"I'll almost there hang on."

He said in response to her silence but she still kept her phone to her ear after he hung up, her head too crowded. She remembered, months ago when her mom told her. It had been winter and Jellybean had nothing to do so she'd sat by the window and watched the snow fall outside, covering everything like a blanket and the frost in the corner of the window frame.

"Hey, mom. Why can't I go home for Christmas?"

She'd asked, not turning away from the window, her head resting on her hands. Her mother had sighed and come beside her by the window from where she'd been sitting in her usual spot behind her easel. The familiar smell of cookies that surrounded her had long been replaced by a smell of paint but Jellybean had gotten so used to it she no longer smelled the unpleasantness of it.

"Why'd you ask Sweetie? I told you, this is home now."

At the time Jellybean still refused to call it that around her mom but soon learnt to.

"Please mom, I want to go back for Christmas. I want to see Jughead and give him his Christmas present and… maybe even dad."

She said cautiously and pleadingly though she'd soon learn it to be pointless. Her mom shook her head and pulled Jellybean to her bosom.

"JB, you can't ever be around that man. I wish things were different too, I left my baby behind. But I can never see Jughead either as long as his dad is there."

She'd heard this before but this year she really wanted to spend Christmas with them, just once.

"But mom, what did dad do that I can't even spend Christmas with them or see Jughead?"

"Terrible things honey. He came home drunk almost every night and no one or at least not me knew what he'd been doing all day. He would sometimes be so angry he'd take it out on me. He hit me, he said he was really sorry but I knew then I never wanted to see his face again and knew you shouldn't either."

Her mom was staring out of the window as Jellybean looked at her and held her tighter.

"I'm sorry mom, I didn't know."

"It's not your fault Sweetie, it's not your fault."

She said and that had been the end of that. Jellybean hadn't asked to see her brother since, until two days ago at least. but she couldn't believe her mom could have ever lied about anything like that. She closed her phone and put it back into her pocket just as a bike came around the corner, speeding towards her. The closer it came, the more she recognised it as Jughead until eventually he was right before her and she stepped forward to meet him as he got off his bike much swifter and much more elegant then she'd managed. He came to her and pulled her into a brief hug.

They pulled apart and he said,

"I'm sorry Jellybean."

She nodded in thanks as he noticed FP's bike.

"Dad here?"

He asked and she knew he already knew that but she appreciated the change in subject.

"Yeah, I found him at the White Worm so we came from there."

"Of course you did…" He sighed, "Wait…You drove here?"

He asked, appalled, but not too surprised.

"Oh yeah."

She said smirking and he cast his eyes to the heavens.

"I guess that's Sweet Pea's bike then?"

He asked, referring to the bike parker beside their father's. Her smile fell a little,

"How did you…."

Could he really tell a bike like that out of…

"He called me,"

Jughead said grinning and told the story of what happened mere minutes ago.

He'd just hung up on Jellybean when his phone rang again, thinking it was Jellybean again he picked up without checking it, pressing the phone between his shoulder and cheek. He swore one day he'd just go around a bend too fast while calling and his phone would just be gone. He shook off the thought and said,

"Hey, what is it? I swear I'll be there in five minutes I…"

He stopped as a male voice, an all too familiar one interrupted him.

"It's Sweet Pea," He said annoyed. "And your sister who supposedly needed all that babysitting stole my fucking bike!"

Jughead couldn't help it and felt no desire to hold himself in, he laughed. The idea of his little sister on a bike was frightening but the idea of his sister pinching Sweet Pea's bike, a guy much older and bigger than her, was hilarious. Sweet Pea's bike, of all people.

"It's not funny." Sweet Pea said but Jughead didn't stop laughing.

"You're bike got stolen by a little girl!"

He said mockingly through his laughter, holding his phone to keep it from falling as he laughed. He could just imagine Sweet Pea's pissed off face.

"You better get it back from that damned girl!"

Sweet Pea threatened but Jughead wasn't going to oblige.

"Your bike, your problem."

"I am walking! Where. is. my. bike."

"How would I know but I'm sure I could find out for you. That is...If you are calling in your favour already."

Jughead said, toying with him. But Sweet Pea would have none of it and hung up abruptly, leaving Jughead to chuckle as he repocketed his phone and pop's neon sign came into sight. Jellybean found the events just as funny as he did and laughed.

"I'd like to have seen his stupid face! I hoped he came out of the White Worm with his friends and they all got on their bikes and he was left standing there!"

Now the both of them were laughing hysterically.

"He's….Walking."

Jughead managed, not helping the situation at hand and let to more giggles and laughing until Jellybean actually snorted.

"His fault for not locking it up."

She added and once the both of them calmed down and held their stomach's in pain she told him their dad was waiting inside.

"I don't suppose you took my advice and went to the trailer first?"

He said just as he opened Pop's door and she grinned at him innocently. He shook his head at her response but still grinning before heading inside. He waited for her to follow but she made a sign she'd be there in a minute. He nodded and closed the door behind him. She pulled out her crumpled checklist from her jacket pocket. She read overall 15 steps and checked off one and two. She'd talked to Jughead, (one) and Fp (two). Step three would be harder still. She debated doing it now but changed her mind. There was plenty of time and besides, she wanted to spend time with her family and have a nice evening together tonight, clear from any drama.

She entered Pop's smiling, the vision of Sweet Pea's horror-struck comedic face branded into her memory. She couldn't wait to see his efforts as he tried to pinch it back, especially with the Serpent leader and his son on her side. She wondered whether FP knew who's bike she'd pinched and would have objected were it someone else's.

She strode through the diner, receiving more stares and took her seat, her brother and father already deep in conversation but welcomed her merely.

Betty hummed as she walked. Her phone had just died so no music but as night fell and she walked the familiar path home she felt herself hum a random tune. She'd gone to Veronica's for the evening and her friend had insisted on driving her back but Betty had turned the offer down politely, declaring she much rather walk back. Since the whole black hood business, she never went anywhere unarmed someway anyway. She had her hands in her coat pocket, clutching her pepper spray as the night seemed to go darker and darker and the street lamps fewer and fewer. She was watching the movement of her feet with lack of nothing better to do so was completely caught by surprise when she collided right into someone.

She looked up with a jolt and came face to face with whoever had bumped into her. Too close. Their faces were only inches away and she recognised the face immediately with a start. And by the expression on his face, he did too, despite the dark.

"Oh sorry."

She said as he did the same.

"Sweet Pea,"

She said in surprise and wasn't sure why. The two had never talked, he'd always just been an annoying member of Jughead's gang but now…Bumping into him it dawned on her how much of strangers they were.

"Betty."

He said in greeting and she was relieved he actually said something and didn't just stand there awkwardly.

"Hey, what are you doing here at night?"

She asked and once again wondered why. Were her manners getting the best of her, he'd just bumped into her and now she wanted to know what he was doing. Why would she possibly want to know what a gang member did this late in the evening?

He seemed as surprised as her.

"Ummm, you first. What's a Northside princess like you doing here?"

Ah, there was that arrogance she so hadn't missed.

"Coming back from Veronica's if you must know. But you didn't answer my question."

She countered, no longer worried about the sanity of her questions and responses. Why was she even talking to him?

"I um….Walking home."

He said and she raised her eyebrow at his stutter and response.

"Walking home?" She asked, not believing him, "Into the Northside? I think you should be going that way."

She said, nodding to her head to the path behind him, the direction to the Northside-Southside border. She'd clearly caught his lie and he mumbled something she didn't hear.

"I'm sorry what was that?'

She asked and he mumbled it a little louder and….no, it couldn't be.

"What?"

He mumbled the same a little louder.

"Sweet Pea, can you please speak up?"

She said but she'd heard him loud and clear this time.

"I DON'T HAVE MY BIKE, JELLYBEAN PINCHED IT!" He blazed and she grinned, "What are you, deaf!?"

"Oh, I heard you."

She said, holding in her laugh by pressing her lips together. He scoffed at her effort and his usual scowl deepened further if that was possible. She couldn't help it, his face was too much and she burst out laughing, just like her boyfriend had.

"You're as bad as your boyfriend."

He accused but she didn't stop and laughed harder. He waited for her to finish, hands in his pocket. They would have made an odd sight. A Northsider and Southsider standing at the edge of the line separating the town. One in pink and the other in black leather. One scowling, a tiny smile he did his best to hide peeking beneath at the sight of the beautiful girl before him laughing hysterically. He too thought the sound was like silver bells and honey and he knew he could never share that thought with anyone. Or any other thought he'd ever had about her hair, her eyes, her wits and that smart mouth of hers.

The evening went amazing.

The three of them talked and laughed for ages and Jellybean couldn't have been happier. Even if…

Her mother and she had had some of the greatest times together especially on holidays when her mother knew Jellybean was feeling extra lonely. The other children would talk about all the family they'd be seeing at Christmas or Easter or the great places they were going to but they didn't want to upset Jellybean so they never talked about it when she was around but instead they'd huddle in little groups and talk about it behind her back. Making it worse without them knowing it.

At those times her mother would take her to new places all the other kids had already been but she'd make them extra fun and make Jellybean grin so much she felt her face might just fall off. But often she'd felt that hole of an absent father and brother. She'd sit on a bench with her mother, both an ice cream in the hand and grinning until a family would walk passed, two boys or a boy and girl or two girls giggling and laughing, their parent's arm in arm behind them. Her grin would never fall, she'd never let it but it would falter ever so slightly until she looked away.

Now she couldn't help but miss her mother too, despite the new things she learnt about her. She now glanced at the empty seat beside Jughead and wondered if her mother could ever fit in the last seat in a booth at Pop's beside the son she'd abandoned and across from her unofficial ex-husband and still laugh, still be herself, still be happy and they could all be a family again.

She knew her parents were separated for the best but just like any other child in her position she'd often fantasized them together again and in love. All four united again.

But she knew that would never be the case again and for most people, she knew or at least was close to it was the same.

Kath was adopted by a single father, Liza had just had to welcome a third dad info her home, Philip hadn't seen his dad in years, the list just went on. And even happy, kind Betty had family issues. Her father she didn't see so regularly anymore obviously, her sister who was not much older then her left with her own twins.

Jellybean remembered what her own mom had once said on one of the few nights she was drunk. She'd only found her mom drunk four times. The first being their second Christmas together, the second the day that should have been her and FP's anniversary, the third her mom's birthday and the most recent, Jughead's 16th. She remembered her words exactly. She'd spoken of what she called the Jones's curse. She said you could trace back centuries of Jones's and only find three successful marriages or united, happy, non-tragic families. The Jones's curse she'd claimed unbroken since then but as Jellybean had watched Jughead and Betty she wondered if they might succeed where her parents and many parents before that had failed.

She came back from her thoughts and returned to the present conversation, Jughead's book. As she listened, all her cares where once again forgotten and she was impossibly proud of her brother.

He talked excitedly and she and Fp took in every word without interrupting.

Eventually, the three, well more like one (FP) paid for their meal of three burgers and left Pop's lost far of closing time. And each mounted their own bike, apart from Jellybean who once again saddled Sweet Pea's with a grin and got on the least graceful of the three. The two men waited for her by the end of the parking, ready to go, a space between their bikes for her to fill and as she rode in between they began the ride home.

"You done yet?"

Sweet Pea asked and Betty nodded, straightening herself up.

"Okay."

She managed with an almost straight face,

"So you don't have your bike. Why are you going into Northside then?"

She said, barely containing her laughter. But her giggles falter when she saw the pain flash in his eyes.

"I don't know why I told you that or why I'm telling you this but I can't go home without it so I'm looking for it. First the trailer park, well it obviously wasn't there and now I'm heading to Pop's and I admit probably check by yours since I wasn't sure whether Jellybean was going home tonight."

She wondered how he knew about that. She almost felt sorry for him.

"Sweet Pea…"

He looked at her and she smiled at him sadly, a kind, sympathetic look on her face. One no one had given him for a long time.

"Look tomorrow, it's getting late, just go home. I'll help you look in the morning."

He clenched his fists, breaking eye contact and shook his head. He couldn't say anything but the truth now.

"You don't understand. I really can't go home without the bike."

"What? That makes no sense. Do you really live that far? If you want I can…"

"No Betty, it's not that."

He interrupted her sternly.

"I really can't show up home without it. I'll get hell for it and then...I won't get a bed for the night."

He admitted and her jaw fell, any trace of laughter completely gone and she felt bad forever laughing at him in the first place.

"Your parents…"

"Grandparents." He corrected.

"They really wouldn't let you sleep under their roof anymore?"

She asked horrified and he tried to dodge the question.

"Well, it's really my roof. My parents left it to me and I'll get it once I'm 18 but until then I have to share it with them.."

"Answer the question Sweet Pea."

"No, they wouldn't. We've been Serpents for generations, respected members, that's how I got in so young and I ride my granddad's bike. My dad left it to me but my granddad doesn't want me to have it but he can't take it away from me. So instead he makes extremely strict rules around it and that's one of them."

He confessed and she put her hand on his arm. He swore he could feel the heat, the feather-light touch of it through his leather and involuntarily he sucked in a breath.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

She said kindly and only when she let go again could he breathe. He thanked her with a nod and was about to continue his search when she stopped him.

"Here I'll help you find it."

She offered, walking along beside her.

"You should go home blondie."

He said and she shook her head.

"I'll help you and deal with the consequences afterwards."

He meant to tell her to go home again but he could tell her offer was genuine and she only wanted to help him, no money, no favours, nothing to gain out of it. She was only doing it out of kindness, they weren't even close, so against his better judgement he nodded and continued walking, Betty in tow.

Jellybean rode in between the two men as they rode home slowly, their lights hardly eliminating the dark road before them. The road only revealed itself just beyond their tires. Riding in broad daylight had been one thing but at night, that was quite another.

Jellybean's heart raced in her chest and she was sure every sound was some sort of wild animal or a policeman that would turn them in for letting her drive a motorbike.

She didn't share any of her fear and concentrated instead on the invisible road ahead.

Just as she thought they'd taken a wrong turn and were never going to get there, they did.

But Jellybean didn't let her relief show as she pushed her bike into the rack. She was finally relaxed when a reve of an engine caused her to jump. She turned around and found that Jughead had snuck up behind her and revved his engine. He laughed at her ridiculous yelp and she scowled at him as FP sniggered from where he was unlocking the trailer door. As she shoved the bike in she punched Jughead in the shoulder as she passed him, still grinning. They walked side by side to the trailer and as Jughead let Jellybean go in before him she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this much at home.


	19. What if...

Chapter 19: What if

Enjoy.

Jughead closed the door behind them as he came in last. Jellybean stood in the centre of the living room, not sure what to do with herself when FP came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for coming home JB. Good night."

He said and wished the same to Jughead as she looked up at him.

"Good night dad."

She said and he nodded before disappearing into what she guessed was his room, closing the door softly behind him.

"Here, I'll pull out the bed for you."

Jughead offered and she smiled in relief, at least someone had thought about where she'd actually sleep.

He reached under the sofa and in one swift motion, he yanked what she guessed was a bar, pulling out an already made bed.

The bed he obviously used himself.

He pulled out two cushions from the cupboard, pulling the covers off and putting others on instead without a struggle.

He'd clearly been going through the same routine for a long, long time. She felt bad for him for, she might not have had too much but at least she'd had a bed she could just plop down on after school as any other normal Americans teenager did. She watched him throw the cushions onto the bed as he said,

"All yours."

And made a gentleman like gesture that made her smile as she put her bag down beside the bed. But she was hesitant to get on the bed.

"What about you Jughead, where are you going to sleep then"

He shrugged, not in a way that he didn't know what to do but that he was used to the simple alternative and didn't mind it.

"Air bed."

He said simply and Jellybean stared at him.

"Where are you going to put it?"

She asked, surprised, looking around her. There wasn't a foot of space for it anywhere. He smiled at her concern, his father had been too used to his own terrible sleeping situations that he had no pity for him, the only other person to show that kind of concern had been Archie after finding him sleeping at school.

"In dad's room or the kitchen. I'll give you your privacy."

He said and Jellybean looked at him hopelessly. Even if he didn't offer her the privacy there still wouldn't be enough space for him here.

"Does this place really have no other room?"

She asked and he shrugged again.

"No. Just dad's room, living room, kitchen, bathroom and separate toilet. So unless you suggest i stay in one of the later options…"

He said, jokingly referring to the bathroom and toilet. An image of Jughead having to sleep in the tub came to mind and Jellybean shook her head repeatedly.

"No, oh God no."

He grinned at her response and said he'd sleep in Dad's room. But Jellybean still wasn't pleased.

"Alright but just for one night. Tomorrow you're sleeping here."

She said and gave him a look of no argument. He shrugged, giving in and she sighed in relief. He headed into the kitchen to get something and she sat down on the bed, looking around the room.

"So, why did dad pick this place anyway if it's only got one bedroom."

Jughead shrugged as he continued looking for something in the kitchen.

"He owned this trailer when he was a student and tried to sell for years but no one would have it so not a year after you left he cleaned this place up and just moved back into here. It took his mind off things, gave him a job to do and was a good excuse to start getting rid of your stuff. He gave up trying to send things to you."

Jellybean nodded, though she knew he couldn't see. Some information was new but most she'd guessed at and Fp told her.

"Yeah, dad told me about the stuff."

"He did?"

Jughead asked in surprise and found what he was looking for, a charger.

"Yeah, just today."

"In the case…" Jughead said and headed for the cupboard, rummaging in it as he spoke. "I have something for you…"

He said and after another minute with Jellybean's curiosity growing he found whatever he wanted to give her. He turned around and threw it to her before she could see what it was. It flew through the air and she caught it with ease. She inspected it for a moment before recognising it.

It was her favourite teddy bear as a child.

"Oh, Mama bear. It's been a long time."

She said, grinning up at Jughead. He smiled back and sat next to her, also looking at the old bear in her hands. She'd been through a lot mama bear. Her coffee colour had darkened to a brown with one of her glass eyes shipped and one of her legs missing its stuffing but otherwise, it was just like the bear she'd left behind. Jellybean wondered who Mama bear's 'children' had gone too.

"I couldn't let dad give this one away. I always knew, somewhere in the back of your head that you'd come back one day, for whatever reason. I didn't know whether it would be tragedy or something better. I had no idea how old you'd be but no matter what age, I would have still given you your Mama beat back. Who knows, had you not heard that phone call you might never have come until you were twenty-five or something."

Jellybean nodded, looking down at her bear, the permanent smile sawn on its snout still smiling at her.

"Yeah who knows."

She said and they sat in a comfortable silence, their mind wondering to all the things that could have been.

"I don't sepposed you have a washing machine do you?"

She asked after a long while and he laughed at the sudden change of subject.

"No sorry. But I can take you to the one in town."

"Oh, thanks yeah. Let's go on Monday, I don't need clean clothes just yet."

He nodded, "Monday it is."

"Thanks for everything by the way Jughead."

"You're very welcome sis."

He said grinning and she wondered how anyone like Jughead could give so much when they had so little.

"Hey, I'm just going to go outside for a sec."

She said and rose. He didn't say anything and as she headed for the door he got up and began making his own bed for the night.

She closed the door behind her and stepped a little out into the cold night, even at this time of year the nights were cold. For what seemed like the thousand times this very weekend she pulled out her phone and dialled.

Step three could wait, this came first.

The phone rang and rang but she didn't pick up. Jellybean called again and willed her to pick up, c'mon. C'mon. Finally, she did.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Jellybean rolled her eyes. This bitch really couldn't take the tow minutes to make her a contact. They've been friends for years for crying out loud! She could at least memorise her number!

"Hey Kath, it's Jellybean. Please don't hang up. I actually have a plan."

There was a long silence where Jellybean was sure this could go either way before Kath eventually spoke, her voice music to Jellybean's ears.

"I'm listening."

"I've talked to Jughead and dad but I also called mom and she's got some weird secret she says is the reason she never went for shared custody over Jughead and kept me from them…And.."

Before she could continue Kath interrupted her.

"What? Really? No way!"

Kath said, forgetting her coldness and Jellybean, despite the circumstances smiled at the vision she had of Kath lying on her bed and shooting up at the news, her voice climbing octaves.

"Yes. But I'm going to call her again to try and get it out of her and if she doesn't…We'll have to find out some other way."

"We?"

"Yes. Me and my brother with the help of my dad are working together on a plan. We've figured everything out and after I call mom it really begins on Monday. I never thought it would work between me and my dad but it did. It really did. The first time I saw him I panicked and at the time I didn't want to see him but then I went to him and I forgave him for about everything and told him how proud I was of him. Talking to Jughead first really helped me see his side of things."

"Really? You forgave him? I don't think I could ever forgive my so called parents for giving me up. There loss anyway."

That's how Kath always referred to them, her 'so called' parents.

"Are you ever going to talk to them?"

Jellybean asked but already knew the answer.

"No."

That was one of the biggest differences between them. Kath never wanted anything to do with her birth parents and Jellybean had always wanted to reunite with her brother and father.

"Is your father still a Serpent?"

Kath asked and Jellybean nodded, then felt stupid doing so.

"Yeah, and so is Jughead."

"Your brother too?!"

Kath asked shocked and Jellybean felt the need to defend him.

"He's been impossibly much over the last two years alone, there's murder in Riverdale. They're like a family to him and probably kept him alive and everything he's done wrong has been to protect those he loves. I understand why he's part of them. It brought him closer to his dad."

"Alright then," Kath said, "What's the plan?"

"I'll tell you everything of course but Kath…Do you wanna help?"

Jellybean said then cringed at her own words.

"What?"

"Kath, would you help us please?"

There was a silence and Jellybean bit her lip, fearing rejection.

"Alright, I'm in."

Kath said confidently and Jellybean could hardly believe it,

"Really?"

"Yes, really. School's boring without you and so's the weekend. How can I help?"

"You sure?"

"Yes, yes. Why? You trying to convince me not too?"

Kath joked and Jellybean grinned widely before remembering something…

"Kath, how is school by the way? You know with the whole picture thing?"

"Much better. The news died down already, I'm sorry for overreacting like that. You were going through a lot and I probably wasn't helping.'

"No, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there for you, for worsening the rumours and not being there for you and now asking even more from you."

"Phew, happy to help Girlfriend. But you better have one hell of a reward for me after all this."

Jellybean laughed, "Promise."

"Alright then," Kath said, something she said far too often. "What do you need me to do?"

And so Jellybean shared the plan with her Girlfriend and told Kath what her part would be. Kath didn't say anything but the occasional agreeing "mmhhh."

After she finished Kath finally spoke.

"Yeah, of course, I can do that but when do you want her?"

Jellybean wasn't sure but she'd need her no earlier than Tuesday.

"Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll keep in touch about it."

Jellybean said and Kath agreed.

"In the meantime, I'll keep to court research. And maybe even your mom's secret."

"Thanks a million, Kath."

"You're very welcome JB."

But before they said their goodbyes she had to ask.

"Kath, we're cool aren't we?"

She asked unsurely and Kath laughed softly.

"Of course. It would take more than one fight to break apart five years of friendship."

Not exactly what Jellybean wanted to hear.

"And of course we're still together."

Kath added and Jellybean smiled in relief.

"Of course."

She said and the two girls said their goodbyes. As Jellybean hung up she felt impossibly lighter. The more people helping with the plan, the easier it would be. But unfortunately, the more complicated the plan, the easier something could go wrong. But so far the plan wasn't too difficult and flexible enough. She could only pray it would go well.

She could call her mom tomorrow, no point pushing it tonight. A proper night's rest would do her good she knew.

She walked in to find Jughead at the table behind his laptop, the room completely in darkness except for his face which was lighted up by the light of the computer. He looked up as she entered and closed the laptop as she closed the door behind her. He stood and switched some lights on.

"Any luck?"

Jughead asked.

"No, I didn't call mom. I called Kath, she'll help us out."

"Okay."

He said, appreciating the extra pair of hands. Jellybean plopped down on the bed, it creaking under her weight and she made herself comfortable, lying back with her hands behind her head.

"You sure you're okay about all this?"

Jughead asked, leaning against the wall before her but her eyes were cast up to the ceiling.

"It's all going very fast." She said with a sigh. "But yes. This is the best solution for everyone and it's also what I want. What about you, is this what you want?"

"I'm impossibly happy to be your brother again but i'm not sure if i can be…." He took a deep breath, not finishing his trail of thought, "As soon as I talk to her I'll know."

Jellybean didn't have to ask who he was referring to.

"i know Jughead. And I hope for you that it works. But if it doesn't…" She sat up again to face her brother. "If she can't even try then she's not worth it. I'll always be there, from now one, even if she's not."

Jellybean promised and knew she'd spend the rest of her life living up to the promise.

"I'll always be there for you too sis whether it be now, tomorrow or in twenty years."

She nodded and he wished her goodnight before taking his computer and heading into Fp's room. She returned the wish and let herself fall back into the bed. She told herself she'd get changed and brush her teeth in a second but as she closed her eyes for what she thought to be one minute she only opened them again hours later.

Betty and Sweet Pea walked side by side in complete silence, neither knowing what to say or whether or not to strike up a conversation. They kept going further and further into the Northside in silence and soon Betty's house came into view.

He was secretly really pleased Betty was with him, him sneaking around on the Cooper's property wouldn't bring him anything but a charge for attempted theft, no matter what he'd actually done. Northside police would stop at nothing for the chance to catch a Serpent, guilty or not.

They arrived at the house and Betty suggested they look in the garage, Sweet Pea round the left side of the car and Betty the right. They searched but there clearly was no bike here or anywhere else on the Cooper or Andrew residence.

"Sweet Pea, I'm sure if I call Jughead and explain he'll tell us where the bike is."

She said, having seen the hopeless hand he'd run through his hair. He looked up at her with a fear stricken face that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, returning to its usual scowl so quickly she might just have imagined it.

"No, don't call Jughead. I don't need him or anyone else knowing about this."

"But you said you called him. He already knows about the bike so…"

"I mean," Sweet Pea interrupted, "I don't need anyone else knowing about or feeling sorry for my living situation."

"If your so protective of your living situation, why did your tell me?.

He shrugged.

"Your a Northsider, not some backstabbing Southsider or Serpent and besides, it's nice…"

He stopped himself, feeling like a complete idiot. But Betty came around from the other side of the car to him and put her hand on his arm.

"Tell me. What were you going to say."

It was like she was hypnotizing him without even realising.

"Sweet Pea, what is it?"

"It's nice having someone know and help with things I usually deal with by myself."

She nodded, then really understood his words.

"Wait, you're bike being stolen, that's happened to you before? Why would anyone ever do that to you?"

He nodded,

"Oh yeah, it's happened before. I was born from an affair. A one time fling between my mom, a Northsider and my father, a Southsider. As soon as I was born I was put up for adoption, neither parent wanting anything to do with me. So when I became a Southsider I was given a hard time for it.

They called me a half snake and I'd find my missing bike hidden in different places countless times, the river included."

"Really wow, that's rough."

She said, not pitying, but intrigued.

The two started walking again, headed towards his next suspected place of the whereabouts of his bike, Pop's.

She awoke to the usual sound of her alarm. She groaned at the sound of it like she did every week day and hit the mute button, giving in to its horrible sound. She pulled herself out of bed and into her kitchen. First coffee, then clothes and a shower. She turned her coffee machine on and pressed her answering machine. Three messages came on but she only really listened to one.

"Hey, Forthysia, it's Ellen from the office, just called to remind you the review papers from the last six months are on your desk, ready for checking. Have a great day!"

This message went right over her head, she never forgot a thing and she wasn't starting today. She sipped her coffee as her second message rang out, of equal unimportance.

"Sup, Forthysia. The invitation is always open to come dance with us tonight or tomorrow. We really should catch up, we haven't talked in ages. See you soon."

She rolled her eyes at the message. Dancing at a club. Ha. She wasn't 24 anymore and Sophie really should get the hint she had no interest in seeing her again. Forsythia kept to her rule of never to become friends with her exes.

She started making her second cup when the third message started playing.

"Hey, Jellybean."

At those two simple words, she whipped her head around and stared at the machine. No one, no one called her Jellybean anymore, she hadn't been called that in... 14 years….The last person she'd heard that from had been Kath, her high school girlfriend.

"It's Jughead, you're brother. You have to come to Riverdale, I've got some bad news. I know you haven't been close to or even seen dad since you were 9 but he was still your father and I just wanted to let you know….I'm sorry I couldn't protect him JB, dad's dead."

Her mug slid from her hand without her even noticing it. It fell to the floor but she couldn't even hear the shatter of broken china over the sound of the numbness in her head.

"He overdosed and was in the hospital for an hour before his heart gave out. We're having his funeral in a week and you don't have to come if you don't want to but I'd really appreciate it and maybe you could even come and meet my wife. I'm sorry for having to leave this on voicemail but I hope you get this and we can talk again. If you say nothing I'll know your view on things. Ok, bye."

The message stopped with a beep and Forthysia fell back against the counter behind her. She slid to the floor, her head over ridden with emotions. The father she couldn't remember had nothing short of killed himself. She narrowly missed the china as she sat there on the cold tiled floor.

Would her mom be there? Would she even greave? Would she face her long lost son?

She didn't know.

Oh God, Jughead. He was married and his voice was so different, gruff and deeper, manlier. She couldn't even imagine what he looked like. She knew how much she'd changed from the little chubby girl who looked too much like her father. Her hair was blonde now and barley brushed her shoulder bone and you could hardly see her without a cigaret but she'd never touch a drink. She remembered getting the invitation to Jughead's wedding three years ago. She couldn't remember the bride's name but she remembered getting the invitation two weeks after the wedding. She would've gone, at least she thought she would have done but she'd been in Uganda at the time. How Jughead had gotten the right address she didn't know but it didn't matter now. She would have to see her brother again, after 17 years. She'd never seen him again since she was nine. But she really had meant to.

She'd graduated from high school and finally got out of the hell hole her so-called home with her insane mother had become. She'd gotten into Cambridge as she'd always wanted, as far away from her family as possible. But before leaving she went on a road trip with her best friends, crossing through America.

She'd planned the ditore to Riverdale but as she came closer to the town that was once her home she wanted to get further and further away from it. She passed the Welcome to Riverdale sign, her heart beating fast in her chest and she decide then and there that she couldn't do it. The girls around her where all dancing and singing along to the music as Forthysia just kept gripping the steering wheel tighter. And just like that she pressed her foot down, one simple motion that changed everything. And she kept pressing down, never taking her eyes off the road, not even glancing at the town and didn't breath until she'd driven straight through the town and came out on the other side. The past, she decided was better left where it belonged, in the past.

Just as well she hadn't told Jughead she was coming. She wanted to surprise him yes, but she didn't want to let him down either and this way, no one would know. He would have graduated years before her, he could have been anywhere really. But that way, no one but her own drowning guilt would be affected by it. She'd never gotten close to visiting the place since.

She stayed there on her spot on the floor, numb for a long time, her head swimming. Eventually, she pulled herself up with shaking hands, grabbing the counter for support. Once she was standing on unsteady feet she grabbed for her cure, her way of suppressing her inner demons. Her cigarettes. She lit one hastily and sucked in deep, blowing it out with a sigh. The fire alarm could fuck itself.

She sighed at the sweet toxic in her lungs as she took many long drags, her head sorting itself out and returned to her bedroom. She got dressed with her cigarette still in her mouth and mumbled a "Hey, I'll be out of town for a week okay honey?" Around her cigarette to the shape underneath the duvet on the bed.

"What?"

The shape said sleepily, not getting up. Forthysia blew out her breath of smoke before saying.

"My dad died. I'm going to his funeral and I'll be staying in Riverdale for the week." v  
"What?"

The shape repeated, now fully awake and sat up in their bed, the duvet no longer covering her. The red head was now facing Forthysia, eyes bulging at the news.

"Do you need me to say it again?"

Forsythia asked, calm as she took another drag of her new cigarette. She walked out of the room again and grabbed her work bag. She dumped the content into the sofa, folders, lipsticks, pens and pencils tumbling out before she repacked what she needed. She put her makeup back in along with her phone, wallet, comb, gum, cigarette packets and other bits and pieces.

Her partner stepped out of the bedroom, her pyjamas falling off her shoulder and hair a complete mess.

"You can't go by yourself."

She protested and Forthysia rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, Charlotte. I do perfectly fine by myself, you know that."

"But you shouldn't have to."

Her girlfriend complained as Forthysia ran to get a quick breakfast together.

"I promise to be back soon and sorry about the mess."

Forthysia said, going back to her girlfriend to kiss her passionately. Charlotte obliged, leaning into the kiss as Forthysia hand ran over her ass. Forthysia pulled away and headed for the door.

"Bye,"

She said over her shoulder and then she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her. And just like that, she'd be gone for the week.

She walked with a quick pace down the three flights of stairs, calling her assistant as she did.

"Hello, Alex? Yes. I'm out for the week, you need to do everything I should be doing. Yes, I'll pay you extra….Not that it's any of your business but I'm going to my dad's funeral. Oh, and check all my voicemails. They're manly reminders for me, so follow those. Don't forget about the papers on my desk!"

She said, hanging up abruptly as she stepped out into the busy streets on New York. She hauled a cab and ordered to go the quickest way to the airport. She lit another cigarette and smoked it since the Taxi driver made no complaint. She made some more calls as she watched the slow-moving traffic off New York.

As they slowly came closer and closer to the airport she tried to recall the few memories she had of her male family members and wondered what would have happened had things been different. If she hadn't pressed the accelerator; if she'd never let her mother pull her away; if she'd ever gone back. Would her father be alive, would she actually have a relationship with her brother, would they be a family, would she meet her brother's wife and even their future child? She'd never know. Years seemed to have passed too fast and now she was finally going, drawn to it by tragedy. Most people followed Destiny or Fortune but she followed lady Tragedy. She shook off all thought of what could have been, there was no point dwelling on the past, and even less so on the impossible.

What you think? A good idea for a spin off?


	20. Southsider Legend

Chapter 20: Southsider's legend  
"What are you thinking?" Sweet Pea asked, looking at her sideways.

"Nothing." She said, shaking her head. "It's just I've never heard you talk about yourself or anything actually. I've barely heard you say two sentences."

He shrugged, "You never got to know me."

She raised her eyebrows, looking up at him.

"You didn't exactly make the greatest effort either."

He put his hands up,

"Hey, I'm not accusing you. Or blaming you. It would have been odd if you had anyway."

"What do you mean?"  
"Well, imagine what it would've looked like. The Serpent leader's son's girlfriend becomes besties with his fellow gang member."

She laughed,

"Yes, it would and the other way around too. A fellow gang member approaching the girlfriend of his leader's son. But Sweet Pea, was that a bit of humour?"

She asked, shocked. He shook his head at her mocking tone,

"Yes, believe it or not I actually have a sense of humour. If not a little sadistic one."

"That honestly doesn't surprise me."

He smiled despite himself and she gasped.

"A smile? Sweet Pea are you okay?"

She said laughing, unable to keep a straight face and he once again shook his head. This girl.

"Anyway." She said, composing herself. "Are we heading to pop's?"

"Yeah, I think it best we check there next."

"You ever go there for drinks or anything? I don't think I've seen you there even once."

She inquired and he shrugged.

"Not much honestly. It's on the border but still in the Northside and it's always full of Northsiders and sitting there by myself doesn't help with the Serpent image. And even if I went with Toni or something we'd stick out like a sore needle."

"But Jughead's there all the time."

"That's different. He went there before he was a Serpent, he's welcome and he goes to the Northsider school. He goes there manly out of habit. Besides, it's also diplomatic, proof that even if he joined the Serpents he'd be the same."

Betty looking at him, really looked at him, realising this boy was a lot smarter than everyone gave him credit for.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Being a teenager on the Southside not in-between like Jughead is must be really hard."

"It isn't easy but honestly I'm more afraid I'll never get out of this place."

"You wanna leave?"

"I joined the Serpents for protection, security. They weren't meant to become like a family to me but they did."

I want more than just a criminal life in a gang. I want a proper, normal family with a normal job. But I'd have to leave the gang for that, I know a handful of good Serpent dads and FP isn't one of them I'm afraid."

Betty listened intently when she realised something. Was Sweet Pea warning her? Was he warning her that if she stayed with Jughead they might never get to leave Riverdale to start a life elsewhere? Was he predicting what would happen if she chose Jughead to have her children with?

She shook off her suspicions, that was a far of future anyway. And besides, he was telling his story, it had nothing to do with her.

"What do you wanna do then?"

"Lots of things. Mechanic, architect, doctor. I don't know, I haven't figured it out yet. What about you?"

"No one's asked me that before, funny enough. A journalist I think."

"That doesn't surprise me. You could work in the paper like your mother."

"Maybe. I don't know if I'd like that though."

"Well, I know I can't get anywhere without a proper education. I can't tell you how happy I was with Southside high closing down."

And she knew Sweet Pea wasn't the only Southsider teenager who felt the same. She wondered what type of school those who hadn't gone to Riverdale high went to. Where they better off there? She couldn't believe how little she knew about them. Everyone should hear their stories, and someone should do something about the unfair disadvantage they had just because they were born on what has become to be known as the wrong side of the tracks.

"You know what?" She declared. "We should do something about that."

"What?"

"Southside high closing coincidentally meant good news and better education for Southsider but we can't just wait around for another happy coincidence. But what if us Northsiders can do something for all Southside teenagers, to help them. To give them privileges we Northsiders get for free."

"And how would you do that exactly?"

"I haven't figured that out yet but I will. I promise you I will."

She declared and it really wasn't helping the speed of his heartbeat.

"You'd have to give most of us new families with better parents and houses for that."

"Well obviously that's out of the question but something similar maybe…What about those without a family or home, orphans?"

"Wow, wow. Calm down, I may be an orphan but I have a home. And living in it is the only thing keeping it mine."

"Oh no, sorry. I don't mean you. Other kids, anyone under 18 without a stable family or who is an orphan. Where do they go?"

"Why would you need to know?"

"I just had an idea of how I could help them but I can't do that unless I know where they are. Just trust me."

"Fine. usually on the street or to Mama Felicia."

"Mama Felicia?"

"It's a Southside thing. North Siders go to orphanages out of town but Southsiders stay here. Mama Felicia lives in the Southside with a big now holding 50 something kids. It's not perfect but it's her, a gang or the street for a lot of them."

"Really? How long has she been taking care of children?"

"A 100 something years."

"What?"

"Mama Felicia isn't one person, it's a title of sorts. So far I think there have been three or four. She takes that title from an old local legend."

"Go on."

"Well, Felicia was a beautiful young woman who lived on the Southside all her life with three, or as other people say, 4 or 5 children. Either way, she lost all her children to hunger and short after that she died too of heartbreak and possibly hunger. Ever since she's haunted the Southside and used to lure children into safe caves and shelters where she guards over them and brings them food. All the children are never missed by anyone and no one goes looking for them until eventually they are completely forgotten.

Not that it matters since only children can see their savour, Mama Felicia. That's what they would all call her for centuries to come. But Mama Felicia couldn't protect them from everything and many died over the centuries from disease, animal attacks, cold or poison fruit. She would then attach their wondering soul to her own and weep for days before finding another child to care for."

She couldn't help feel mesmerized by the story, but not only that, also his voice, it had a softness to it that was perfect was storytelling.

"But most grow older and start wandering further and further from their mother until one day they simply don't return, forgetting she ever existed for she shares her children's curse of being forgotten. And even if she could find them again they would see right through her, having grown into adults. Her heart breaks then once more but she loved her children too much to bare killing them before they reach adolescence.

It's a legend and probably isn't true but about a hundred years ago a woman in Southside was inspired by Mama Felicia and because she couldn't bear children of her own she followed her example and sheltered those who needed it. Eventually, her real name was forgotten and she was Mama Felicia to everyone, her successor, her Granddaughter following her footsteps and ever since different female relations have taken the title."

"Wow, what a story."

Betty said after he'd finished and a troubled silence had started to form.

"How come I've never heard of it?"

He shrugged,

"Southsiders' are very protective of their legends and stories. That's why you didn't know of the story behind Pickens until Jughead unrightfully exposed it. History is much richer on our side and has been past down for centuries, almost everybody takes it very seriously. And I can tell you, there's a reason the Serpents have the name they've been given.

You've got sirup and better land but we've got the eldest land and history."

He said the last with a smile.

'Wow, that is amazing."

"Yes, but I also know of you and Jughead's reputation so don't go writing all this down and publishing articles on it or telling every North Sider who cares to listen."

Fair enough, she thought. She'd never know Sweet Pea or any Southsider to be protective of their history like this, Jughead certainly wasn't. But perhaps he hadn't been enough of a Southsider despite his background.

"Alright, I promise but don't expect me to not do any research. But no publishing or telling anyone else. You're quite the storyteller Sweet Pea…"

He nodded in thanks and she smiled, looking ahead of her before adding,

"Maybe you could write for the blue and gold. Or perhaps only for the Cullum just for Southsiders to write in."

He tried to hide his utter surprise at her question but was only partly successful.

"That's a thing?"

"It is now."

"You really want me, writing for your paper."

"First of all it's not my paper but yes."

"Oh please, of course, it's your paper."

"You haven't answered my question."

"I don't know Betty."

"Whatever you write will be completely anonymous if you want it to be and if you really don't want me to I won't even tell Jughead you're writing. You probably have to keep us your Serpent appearance or some bullshit."

He laughed,

"Ok fine, you've convinced me. Thanks a lot, Blondie."

"Then you're in….As soon as you send me a draft."

"A draft?"

"Well yes. Everyone needs to send a draft to be accepted. For all I know you can tell amazing stories but can't write a word. Or heaven's above you might not know how to spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

He rolled his eyes at the lameness of her joke but still grinned.

"It can be about anything you want, even Mama Felicia." She continued seriously. "No one but me will read it and I won't tell anyone."

He thought for a long moment and she watched him in anticipation and his gaze remained dead forward. His face was unreadable until he eventually spoke.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Great! I'm looking forward to it."

"But everything stays anonymous and don't expect me to be like Jughead. I write and tell what I know, simple and swiftly, I don't come up with my own stuff and I don't write fancy."

"What would be the fun in that if you were just like Jughead. I like different."

"Since you're dating the Serpent leader's son I'd say so."

She ignored his comment and pulled out a notebook and pen from her bag, still walking but struggling to keep up to his quick stride. She opened a random page and scribbled something in purple pen. He tried to read it but she snapped the book shut before he could.

"There, all done. First thing Monday I'll open the new column and advertise it. Southsiders only and anonymous if they wish."

"Few will want to come up to you."

"They won't have to, I'll just leave a letter box for them to drop their articles into and then put them into the paper."

She said excitedly and he could just imagine her head raising with ideas and expectations.

"Don't build your expectations too high. Southsiders I must admit aren't usually the most creative or sharing types."

Sweet Pea warned and she nodded, understanding their side of things.

"Sweet Pea?"

Betty asked, breaking the silence that had started to form.

"Why do you and Fangs for example, have such odd nicknames?"

"Most gang members do."

"I know but Toni doesn't."

"Everyone's different."

"Ok." She said, frustrated, "But Antoinette and Toni I get but what's with Sweet Pea?"

"I didn't choose it."

"You didn't?"

"No."

Still nothing more.

"What's your real name then?"

"I've shared a lot with you, Betty, although I'm not sure why, but nobody, nobody remembers or knows my name."

And just like that his walls were once again up and Betty couldn't be mad at him for it. God knows how terrible or personal the story behind his name was. He'd already shared so much she almost felt bad for not saying more.

"Why do you want to help us Southsiders?"

Sweet Pea asked, curious but not suspicious.

"I don't know. I..I guess had things been a little different, had my mom chosen another man, had she married out of love, not security and a way out of Southside I perhaps would have been one myself, a Serpent even."

Honestly, imagining her in a Serpent jacket was just as easy as imagining Toni in one but he kept quiet.

"Really? Your mom did that?"

"Yeah, she married my father to escape the Serpent and Southside, to have a perfect, proper life in the North Side until everyone forgot she was ever even a Serpent to begin with. I can't blame her honestly, I only find it sad that choosing Hal also meant that unfortunately she never experience true love or growing old and having a family with the one person perfect for you. Though I guess me and Poly were something she could love and the two people who love her most in the world."

"I think, Betty," Sweet Pea said carefully, "I think she did love him. That somewhere along the line she loved him or learnt to anyway."

Betty nodded, not speaking and wondering how Sweet Pea knew that. Had his parents done the same?

"That's part of the reason I'm doing this. So no one else, no other teenager or young adult has to choose security over love for a better life, a brighter future. Or have it chosen for you. I want…I want to know that because of my efforts, at least one, even if it's just one child doesn't have to go through what my mother did."

"I hope you succeed Betty Cooper and of course, should you need it, I'll help."

She nodded and the two continued walking to Pop's in a comfortable silence, the diner drawing nearer and nearer and neither would ever admit it but they both felt sad arriving at Pop's and would have been happy with nothing but the other's company for a long while longer.

Sharing the raging thoughts in your head with almost strangers, people who don't depend on you, people you don't depend on, people who don't know anything but simple facts about your life, people who you perhaps won't have to face again and who you never need to explain or justify your actions to releases you of a great burden and you each do each other the same service.

"Betty?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry but no one, especially not Jughead can know that we met and what we talked about. No one can know I ever saw you here."

He said, suddenly stopping and staring deep into her eyes. The change in mood made her nervous but she nodded, uncomfortable under his gaze. It wasn't a cold one, simply distant and troubled and she wondered whether he regretted anything he'd said. She knew she didn't.

Betty would keep this secret but little did either of them know just how big this secret was about to get.

Satisfied by her nod, Sweet Pea continued walking, the Diner now in full few of both of them.

"Hey, you know."

Betty said as they came closer and closer and she somehow knew that no matter if he found his bike or not, this was as far as he'd let her accompany him.

"What you said about Jughead and what it would have looked like had we approached each other, become friends maybe. It wouldn't have mattered to me. I wouldn't have cared if people liked it or not, what they thought of me. They can judge me all they like, say what they think about me without knowing me, they've been doing that since I was born, my mother the worst of them sometimes, and they aren't about to stop either, I know that. But if you had been my friend it wouldn't have mattered to me what they thought."

She'd long since stopped trying to please everybody, be the perfect daughter, student, sister, North Sider or anything else. She was just her. And if dating or being friends with Southsiders was improper then she didn't care one bit to be proper.

Sweet Pea seemed to get that too and he smiled, looking at her with a warmth she didn't know a Southsider Serpent could have.

"Thank you, Betty, that means a lot."

But she doubted he would ever feel the same. She had hardly anything to lose, her reputation and image at most but he had everything to lose, his friends, his gang, his house, his school. And she wouldn't even ask of him to risk that if he offered.

She nodded her understanding and prayed he understood that she didn't expect the same from him.

They continued walking as he scanned the few vehicles parked in Pop's small parking lot then searched the road. Betty searched too and saw it just as Sweet Pea did. His bike.

"Hey, that's my bike!"

He shouted and broke out into a run, Betty a second behind him, surprisingly fast but fell behind quickly as he started sprinting, building up a speed she had never seen before in person. But even from a few feet behind she could tell they were too late. The three figures they'd seen mount three bikes and start their engines were long gone, already out of sight, the darkness having seemed to have swallowed them whole. And even if they weren't moving very fast there was no way Sweet Pea could catch them up now. He realised it too and stopped, having almost reached the parking lot. She caught up with him as he stood, simply staring at the road they had long left behind them, breathing hard. He ran his hands through his hair, slightly panicking but said nothing until his chest no longer heaved. Betty made no sound beside her own ragged breath.

"Son of a bitch!"

He shouted suddenly, a sharp, angry filled curse that caused Betty to jump. But she couldn't help but agree. She was sure Jughead and Jellybean meant no great hard but little did they know how much their victim would be affected.

"Agreed."

Betty said as Sweet Pea walked in a circle hopelessly,

"They could be going anywhere, though most likely back to the trailer park. Walking back there will take at least an hour, so I suggest you stay with me."

Betty said, the words leaving her mouth before she could really think about what this would mean. He whipped around to face her, caught completely of guard and surprise writtin all over his face.

"What?"

Jellybean awoke, the dream still fresh in her mind. It took her a moment to come back to reality and realise she hadn't in fact never come to Riverdale and she wasn't a smoking, workaholic, 28 year old version of herself. What a weird dream.

She sat up in her bed and raised her hand to wipe her hair from out of her eyes, only to find with a grunt that she'd slept in her clothes.

Great, she might need a washing machine earlier than anticipated. She got up and headed for what she guessed was the bathroom. She'd indeed taken the right door and locked it behind her and she entered the small bathroom but didn't start undressing before properly checking the lock.

She stood before the mirror as she peeled off her uncomfortable slept in clothes then glanced at herself in the mirror before drawing the curtain back and stepping into the shower.

She turned the shower up and her mind went blank as it was filled with nothing but the immense pleasure of a warm shower, something she felt like she hadn't had in weeks and savoured every second of it.

As she washed with shampoo and conditioner and hopelessly tried to work through the knots in her long hair she decided then and there she was done with the inconvenient length. It simply had to go and while she was at it, her highlight needed touching up too.

10 minutes later she stepped out again, a towel wrapped around her and headed for the living room to change when she heard an odd sound. Confused she followed it to Fp's room and as she came closer she realised it was grunting. Painful, panicked grunting. Was that Jughead? What was happening? As she clutched her towel to her she knocked on the door, no reply but the sound continued. She knocked once more before opening the door. She stepped in quickly and hardly had a chance to look around but she could tell it was a simple bedroom, one bed, one window, a lamp on a nightstand, no decorations. She immediately saw the air bed Jughead was sleeping on it and him still on top of it. He was sitting bolt upright, sheets still half under the sheets, making those horrible sounds with an open mouth and panicked eyes. He seemed to be choking or at least he wasn't breathing properly with sweat covering his face.

She rushed to him, kneeling down on the bed in front of him, no idea what to do. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Because of her mother and in fear of what she might get one day she'd learnt about many different ways to help all types of problems. But what was happening, was he having a panic attack?

"Jughead, Jughead, tell me, what's happening?"  
"Nothing... Nothing."

He said, almost tripping over the words, not looking at her.

"Jughead, this isn't nothing."

"I'm... fine, you ca... go. I'm alright...Okay"

Denial wasn't getting them anywhere. She knew he was lying.

"Jughead, look at me. There is nothing to be afraid of. I'm right here, I'm going to help you through this. Now take a deep breath in for four seconds and great breath out for four seconds. I'm not going anywhere."

He looked at her, his panicked look dimming and followed her instructions with difficulty.

But he didn't quite believe her. How could he, she was going to leave him again. She was going to walk out of that door, she was going to go now for sure, she's seen how absolutely fucked up he is. And there's no hiding it now or ever again. He'd broken up his family and he was doing it again.

"This won't last forever, you'll get through it but you need to breathe. And tell me Jughead, what do you wanna do today? Tomorrow we go to school but today I want to spend the day with you. You love pop's don't you, you want to go there?"

Tomorrow, she would be here tomorrow.

He nodded, still taking controlled breaths, his heart rate decreasing.

"Keep going Jughead, it's okay. You are not trapped, you are free. The thought in your head can't cage you. You can move and you can speak. And if you need to go anywhere, away from here I'll take you and come with you."

He nodded again and stopped breathing as heavily, his breath coming out evenly again, along with his heartbeat. But in the place of the panic in his eyes, he looked incredibly tired. She sighed in relief. Thank God, she thought. She'd never actually had to do this before. He just sat there, upright and she pulled him to her chest, still wrapped in her warm towel. For a long time, she just held him, his breath brushing her ears and their faces held cheek to cheek. After a while his arms wrapped around her too, stroking over the soft fabric of the towel on her back.

"Please don't leave me."

He said, so softly she wouldn't have heard it weren't his lips so close to her ear.

"I'm not going anywhere."

She said and whether it was a good idea or not, whether he would be alone again or not, he believed her.


	21. The Serpent's heartbeat

Chapter 21: The Serpent's heartbeat  
"What?"

Sweet Pea repeated and Betty didn't back down.

"Yes, there's no way I'm letting you sleep on the streets or go to Mama Felicia."

"You're actually considering letting me stay at your house?"

Sweet Pea said, sounding more angry than surprised. Almost outraged she'd ever suggested such a thing.

"Well. Yes. Jellybean is staying with them tonight obviously so I could sneak you into Polly's room or something…"

"You know there is no way I can accept this, right?"

"Fine. Don't think of it as a kindness, its a payment for telling me about Mama Felicia and everything else, for joining the blue and gold."

"I'm sorry Betty, there's just no way I can do this. If I'm caught by anyone you have no idea what I could be charged with, or what it will do to either of our reputations. I'm not Jughead! You can't treat me like it, he's your lifelong friend, best friend to Archie Andrews, more of a Northsider than I'll ever be, even if you weren't dating it would be different."

"Then tell me, how can I help you?!"

He threw his hands up,

"I never said I needed your help, Cooper! As I said, this has happened before!"

They were now shouting at each other, both too stubborn for their own good.

"And what did you do then? You dealt with it by yourself and it happened again, so this time, let me help and it won't happen again!"

"You can't guaranty that and I don't need you looking after me like I'm some child!"

"Just let me help you, to make it easier for you! Your seventeen, you shouldn't have to do this alone!"

"What do you want from me, Cooper!"

"I want for you to let me help you, to realise you don't deserve this, to accept help!"

He just shook his head, pressing his lips together and began retreating backwards a few steps before turning around, but before he could disappear she called out to him.

"Don't go! Fine, fair enough you don't want to stay with me, I realise it was a reckless offer but we'll think of something else!"

He stopped but didn't turn around,

"Thanks for all the help, really but here's where I draw the line!"

"What, so this is it? You get to decide when and how I help you? Helping you find your bike is alright, sharing stories and ideas is alright, planning on working together is alright but any further than that and you push me away!"

"That is exactly it."

He said, no longer shouting but his mindset. He still hadn't turned around.

"That isn't your decision to make!"

"Oh yes, it is!"

"What happened Sweet Pea?! What happened that you can't let anyone in?! And before you deny it, I know it's not just me you push away, it's everyone. I've seen it, around Toni, Fangs and Jughead you're all tough and reckless and loud but never personal and close!"

He now turned around in a furry,

"Don't pretend to know me, Betty! Don't pretend to have me all figured out and don't you dare, don't you dare to ever judge me! I never should have said anything I said because you're just like all the rest, nothing more than a Northside snob!"

His snarling face was so close to hers she blinked back in shock. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came. And damn him, he couldn't but glance at those full, red lips. He hated himself for after everything she'd said that all he wanted to do was close the distance between them and kiss her, to bite her lip, to be able to call her his. But he knew he couldn't. And he knew he couldn't accept her offer for the same reason.

They stayed like that for a short while and Sweet Pea, somewhere in the back of his head prayed that she would keep arguing, keep insisting to help but she didn't. And he knew that was for the best, and yet, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He was just looking for a fight he told himself and he stepped back, realising no one was going to be saying anything anymore before turning around, leaving her to stare at the Serpent take was permanently on his back. She knew it was of no importance right now but she couldn't help wonder if the tattoo on his neck was the only one he had or if there was another on his constantly covered skin, under all those layers.

She watched him disappear into the darkness, heading god knows where. She could just turn around, go home, the only sign any of this every happened the ache she felt in her chest and the paper she was hoping to find unsigned on her desk one day. But Betty Cooper was a lot of things and a quitter wasn't one of those things.

Jughead seemed to have calmed down enough to feel embarrassed by Jellybean's attire. Or lack thereof.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to umm…"

She laughed at his complete loss of words, he himself, at least had been wearing shorts and an undershirt.

"It's perfectly alright. I'm just going to get changed, see you in a minute."

She said and rose carefully before walking back into the living room, chuckling at Jughead's response, even if she herself was extremely relieved her towel had stayed in place. She dressed quickly into the last outfit she'd taken with her, knocking on FP's bedroom door to signal she was ready. Soon Jughead came out too and they shared the little food left for them in the fridge. Fp was long gone, leaving them nothing but a simple note reading,

"I'm out, food in the fridge."

Jughead didn't seem surprised, he didn't even read it. It seemed FP was out quite early a lot."

They ate most of their breakfast in silence, both hungry from the events that had just occurred. Jellybean made herself a mental note that today she had to call her mom, whatever else she was doing that had to be done.

"Jughead, are we going to talk about your panic attack?"

She asked and he sighed, shoving another mouthful of cereal in his mouth.

"Thought you might want to."

He said once he finished his mouthful then said nothing for a while.

"I had them constantly as a kid, and then became worse as a young teenager but they were…manageable. But the problem with panic or anxiety attack is it doesn't get easier. Everyone, no matter how many hundred I'd had before that one is just as bad as the last and just as bad as the first. But as years passed and I became more and more stable they slowly started to stop. Until finally, once I really started to accept that this was my life, they stopped. That is…Until three days ago."

"Until I arrived."

He nodded,

"Yeah, that or the phone call."

Her heart dropped, that was yet another wound that now had to start healing again.

"This is the second one since then but dealing with them is always more difficult alone and my thoughts go crazy and I sometimes say stuff that doesn't make any sense or I don't mean so if I ever say something to you that…."

"You don't have to apologise for that Jughead, I know you don't mean it and I'll be there for every single one to come from now on."

She said sincerely, no strings attached, no excuses or maybes.

"But it's not that simple. They'll just keep coming until the problem, the thing causing them is fixed. It used to be accepting my situation and the way things were but now I'm not so sure how to fix this. There's just too much going on…But maybe once all is done, I'll get more and more used to you coming and going."

She nodded, it would be better, it had to be.

"It'll all be over soon. Everyone will be happy. Me, you, dad and even mom."

"Do you really want to.."

"Yes, I know she may seem like the villain right now but she's still my mom, I won't repeat what happened between me and dad, I hope you won't either."

"We'll see."

He said and that had been the end of it.

"No."

She said, staring after him, knowing he had heard it even if she hadn't raised her voice, even if he didn't turn around or make any sign of having heard it.

"I'm going to help you whether you like it or not. And if that makes me a Northsider bitch then so be it."

She said and marched after him. She reached him and tugged him by the arm, forcing him to turn around, catching him a little by surprise but all she did was press the keys she'd taken from out of her bag into his palm.

"This is the least I can give you, a key to the school and to the blue and gold office, now don't go ruling either of our reputations by being caught with them or losing them."

She said and closed his hand over them before letting go of his arm, letting him decide what he'd do with the gift. She had no idea what he would do but to her surprise, he simply put his closed fist into his jacket pocket and nodded,

"Thank you, Elizabeth Cooper."

He said and turned around again, and this time, she let him go. She stood there for a while, watching him, just wondering if that had been the most he'd ever accepted from anyone. One of the very few things he'd been given and didn't have to fight for. And she had no idea just how right she was. Or just how hard Sweet Pea's heart was beating beneath the Serpent coiled on his back.

Neither Jughead nor Jellybean were sure what to do with themselves so they pulled out a pack of cards and taught each other every card came they knew, which in Jughead's case wasn't very much but they played them all without complaint. Spit was Jellybean's favourite game and was made even better as it left Jughead cursing his clumsy hands wildly as she snorted with laughter.

She won most games but they both played for hours until finally, they decided to get some proper food. Jughead once again offered to go with Pop's but Jellybean was already feeling like she'd been there too often and wanted to try something else, not understanding her brother's obsession with it.

"What? Pop's is the best diner in the whole world and perfect to eat and hang out at."

Jughead said after she'd voiced her feelings on the matter, she only rolled her eyes.

"Really? I mean sure they serve milkshakes and burgers and have a nice 60s vibe to it but I don't get what's so great about it?"

"Exactly that! And the amazing history and location of it."

"If I wanted to go sightseeing or get a history lesson I wouldn't go to a dinner for it."

They kept going backwards and forwards with their stupid argument, no real conflict actually forming. They didn't stop when getting on their bikes and were still going on, Jughead talking about all Betty had done to keep the place open as they went along slowly. Too slowly.

"Seriously Jug, Betty said herself that going slow was more dangerous than going fast!"

Jellybean complained but Jughead was having none of it,

"When I'm driving yes! Not you!"

"That makes no sense."

Jellybean said and without warning, she shot forward. Jughead cursed and sped up to catch up to her but she just kept picking up speed until eventually, Pop came into view.

Jughead was definitely pissed when they arrived. And made no effort to hide it but she did see the smile beneath his deep frown. After a few scowls from Jughead, they entered the Diner. They looked around for a place to sit when a voice called them over,

"Here!"

They followed the voice and found it to be Betty, seated at a table with Veronica, waving them over. They came over and slid into the free seats, Jellybean sitting next to Veronica who was sitting opposite Betty. The blonde and brunette both said an excited, "Hey." As the Jones's took their seats.

Jughead, sitting next to Betty gave her a quick kiss before saying,

"Hey Betty, Veronica, mind if we join you?"  
"By all means."

Veronica said and Jellybean was glad to be part of their little group, even if she still wondered whether Jughead would tell Betty about the panic attack or want to keep it between just them. She shook off the thought almost immediately, this was none of her concern and the last thing she wanted to do was push him.

So she let it go and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with the straight A student who wasn't as simple or innocent as she'd first appeared to Jellybean and the rich kid who had a more loving heart than Jellybean could have thought. Her brother of course...Wasn't exactly too doom and gloom but she had jet to see what exactly he really was. He seemed to be walking a fine line.

Sweet Pea bit his lip, oh God what was he doing? He'd come early to school for God's sake, just to leave his paper for Betty without anyone seeing him. Like some overachieving student, he'd written his draft for Betty already and had actually done his best. He couldn't remember the last time he'd tried so hard for something that wasn't his education or the Serpents. This didn't matter at all, it wouldn't give him extra credit because he'd keep it anonymous, no one could find out or he'd be made fun of yet, somehow, it mattered so much.

He hovered outside the blue and gold, deciding whether or not to enter. He knew he could, he could just walk in, put it in Betty's draw and she'd know it was from him and go. But for some reason he didn't. He paced backwards and forwards, clutching the small stack of papers he'd even stapled together in his hands. God this was stupid he decided and finally went in. Funny how he'd never been in here before, let alone wanted to be, but now…

Now he was really excited to be part of something that wasn't the Serpents, that didn't involve a team and a reputation, it just meant writing about the things he knew best, stories, legends, people and the Southside. He opened the door slowly, as if afraid someone was inside, which of course there wouldn't be.

He closed the door behind him gently and walked towards the desk at the back of the room, Betty's desk. He reached it and was about to go around it to open the draw when a voice from behind him stopped him.

"Sweet Pea? What are you doing here?"

He turned around, quickly hiding the paper behind his back as he now faced Jughead, standing at the door. Jughead looked very confused and kind of angry, probably thinking he was here to steal something.

"Nothing. Just looking for you."

Sweet Pea covered up quickly but in his usual cool manner. Jughead looked at him suspiciously,

"In here?"

"Yes, I know you write for this rubbish you call a paper so I came here to look for you."

"And you thought you could find me in Betty's desk because…"

Jughead said, walking towards him but not looking particularly menacing in his fur-lined coat and shoulder bag.

"I wasn't, I was waiting for you and thought I might as well look at what you two get to in here, nothing much it seems."

To Sweet Pea's relief, Jughead took the excuse and shrugged,

"Fine, what you need me for."

"My bike. Where is it? I baby sitted your sister for you so give me my bike."

"Ah, well…You'll have to wait for Jellybean to come to school, she'll be riding it."

Jughead said smirking and Sweet Pea scowled at him menacing, the only thing keeping him from choking Jughead was the paper clutched behind his back and the fact that the boy was his leader's son.

"Oh, Betty really knows how to pick 'em doesn't she."

He said, standing up to his full height and stepping up to Jughead. He blinked at the words,

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, how did a girl like that end up with a miserable douche like you."

"Don't talk to me like that."

Jughead said, fire in his gaze but Sweet Pea couldn't care less. He just needed Jughead angry enough to leave and besides, he really did want to know.

"Tell me, how did you get the Cooper girl?"

"It's none of your fucking business, now get out."

"Not a chance boy. For once it's time you answer to me. What makes you think you deserve her?"

"I don't!"

Jughead yelled, snarling into Sweet Pea's face.

"That's what I thought."

Sweet Pea said smugly but before he could stop himself he added,

"But for some reason, she seems to think you do. And whatever fucked up thing you do Jones, don't hurt her. Send the Serpents to hell if you want but treat her the way she deserves to be treated, don't get her stuck in the middle. You're a lucky mother fucker so don't fuck it up. If you ever do anything to hurt her in any way I will hunt you down myself."

Jughead's frown fell and he looked up at the boy he'd always seen as heartless and nothing but a rough brute with new eyes. His expression turned shocked and realisation dawned on it. Sweet Pea cursed his running mouth and was about to leave, damning that paper when Betty herself walked in, Jughead turning around at the sound of the opening door. She smiled at the both of them,

"Hey, Jughead, Sweet Pea? What are you doing here?"

She said then frowned at the expression on Jughead's face, now turned to her.

Sweet Pea didn't waste the opportunity and quickly but carefully moved the paper's from behind his back to Betty's desk, face down. Betty noticed the movement in the corner of her eye but kept her attention on Jughead, letting Sweet Pea know that she would indeed keep this as their secret. Jughead was too lost in his thoughts to notice anything and hardly registered Sweet Pea leaving.

He passed Betty without looking at her but she didn't feel offended, knowing it was all part of the act. She faked confusion at seeing him but before she could utter a word or ask what was wrong with Jughead he was upon her. His lips crashed into hers and she pulled back a bit in surprise but immediately leant back into him. He wasn't kissing her like he usually did, with tenderness and love but with need and want. He pushed her against the wall, his mouth taking and taking, trailing down her neck viciously as Betty tilted her head back and moaned, forgetting the world. She let him go on, biting and sucking, growling as he went, her hand in his hair until good sense came back to her and she stopped him with a hand against his chest. Not understanding he pushed further into her, now flush against her. She gasped in pleasure but knew this was wrong. Something was wrong with Jughead and this was how he was dealing with it, by losing himself in her.

"Jughead…"

She said breathlessly as his mouth kept going lower and lower down her front, his hips grinding against her's, hands trailing down to her rear.

"Jughead…" She tried again, "Stop."

He stopped, breathing heavily, bringing his face up to meet her eyes.

"What…what is it?"

He asked, eyes filled with lust.

"Jughead, tell me, what's wrong? Why…why did you look at me like that when I came in?"

She asked worried and he shook his head,

"It's nothing."

He said and leant forward to nibble at her earlobe. She kept in her gasp as she pressed on.

"Jughead, please, talk to me."

He sighed, leaning his forehead against her's. He kissed her softly, tenderly before answering.

"What…what could possibly make you believe I deserve you?"

He said and she pulled back.

"What?"

"Why would you possibly want to get involved with a Serpent?"

"Jughead, where is this coming from? One day you want us to run away together and the next you don't think you deserve me. Of course, you deserve me and you don't need me to tell you that.

You deserve me because you care for me, because you held me when my world was falling to pieces, because you opened up for me, because you did everything you could to protect me, because you're a good person. And I deserve you because I fought for you and your father, I didn't let you go, I didn't let you block yourself out and disappear. I deserve you because no matter what, I was by your side and because I accepted you for who you were, now and last year. We deserve each other because we went through all kinds of hell for each other, we stand up and protect each other and we always, always are better together. Because whenever one of us messes up the other is there to help clear up the mess, to forgive the other. So don't ever, ever kid yourself in thinking you don't deserve me. You fought for me, you earned all my love, now stop messing about and accept it."

She said and he almost felt stupid for ever thinking anything else.

"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just sometimes," He shuddered, "It's hard to believe you chose me."

She smiled, kissing him tenderly,

"And that you chose me."

She said into his mouth and he once again pushed against her and deepened the kiss until they were once again, lost in each other.

Betty had the first period free and decided to spend it in the blue and gold as Jughead was in chemistry.

She took her chance, hating to go behind Jughead's back, especially after earlier but knowing it was necessary, to help out a friend.

She picked up the paper's Sweet Pea had left for her, pleasantly surprised he'd done them so early.

She sat in her chair and read all of it in one sitting, finishing just before the bell rang. She jumped in her seat at the familiar, yet still surprising sound and quickly picked her stuff together, Sweet Pea's words still ringing through her head like they would for the rest of the day.

She walked down Riverdale high's simple halls, her head still in the clouds and decided she had to talk to Sweet Pea, just to tell him how honoured she was he'd trusted her with all this. And of course she would keep all of this a secret, her head was buzzing with articles and headlines she would never write.

At the end of the day, she came back into the blue and gold, plopping her bag down and sitting down behind her computer, designing the cover to next week's paper, introducing the South Sider's column.

She worked on it for a good hour, wanting to advertise it just right, make it something the Southsiders actually would want to be a part of and not just for Northsiders entertainment and gossip. She finally got it right and the cover was ready for printing. She smiled at her work, closing her laptop. Wanting to read through parts of Sweet Pea's paper again she opened the drawer she'd put it in then gasped. No, this couldn't be happening. She searched her desk frantically, throwing stacks of paper to the ground, running her hand through her hair. She searched her bag twice and every corner of the room, every stack of paper's three times, she went back to every class she had that day, cursing herself for not locking up the draw in her hurry to get to class. She burst back into the room after her unsuccessful search and looked everywhere one more time before falling to the ground in defeat. What had she done?

The papers were gone.


	22. Lost History

Chapter 22: Lost history  
'I am a Southside Serpent and this is my story. Or rather this is everyone in this town's story.

Riverdale used to be one town with no borders, in fact, it used to be nameless. Just a beautiful place, a paradise to our people with its wonderful lake, fruitful trees, high mountains and sweet maple syrup. Our native people, the Uktena as they called themselves lived here together for centuries, sharing their land and all it gave them, completely isolated from everything outside the little town which at the time existed of nothing but little houses, with little shops and plenty of farms and the occasional bus out of town.

But that way of living soon ended.

A white male, General Augustus Pickens, came to Riverdale with his gun and other men just like him. He took whatever land his eyes set on that pleased him and shot anyone who dared intervene. Riots and attacks were planned against him, a hundred men with all the farm tools they had, running into the barrel of a gun. One by one they were shot down, one by one they watched their brothers fall before them and followed them in their fate. Hundreds were wiped out, others imprisoned but the resistance remained strong, so much so that the white man gave in. Well, not quite.

He'd taken the best, most fruitful land with the best stream of syrup, the river right in the centre of his claimed land and fenced it off. He was the first white man but soon more came and joined him, soon new, grand and rich houses started filling the claimed side of town. And the white people's workers and started clogging up the little space the other side of town had left.

Pickens named the land Riverdale in 1941, his side the North and the other the South.

But that was only the begging. The town continued developing, factories with chimney climbing high above the clouds started filling the Southside, supplying the people with badly paid work and the produces went straight to the Northside, leaving the smog to fill the South. And on the Northside maple farms and many more farms began, all money coming from and going to Barnabas B Blossom, a family still rich.

Northies soared in its economy and success while Southside, to this day, remains poor. People came from all over to this town, forming the population it has today, the poor went to work on one side and the rich for a comfortable life on the other.

They managed to take so much, our history, our land, our homes, our people's name, renaming us Southsiders, a spit insult by many, but one thing they could never take were our stories, legends many of us now guard with our lives, the very thing that separates us so much from Northsiders. Tales of ghosts, witches, giants and so much more, shared over children's cribs and whispered in the darkest of nights. Something that was finally theirs and theirs alone as it would be for centuries.'

And so it went on, pouring out stories and legends Betty had never heard of anywhere, reminding her that Northside was just another American town but Southside wasn't. It was so much more than that, it was a community in its own right. He even said why the Serpents were called Serpents. And that Sweet Pea had shared that with her….

But before Betty returned to the blue and gold to find papers missing, this happened.

By coincidence, she and Sweet Pea shared not a single class so between classes she ran around the school trying to find him until eventually, she did. He came out of a classroom and she ran to meet him but then stopped in her tracks as 5 other Serpents followed him out. She wasn't sure whether she should approach him with his fellow Serpents around, there was obviously a reason he secretly gave her the paper. She thought quickly and deliberately dropped everything she was holding, making it appear an accident. Stacks of papers, folders and notebooks clattered to the floor, she looked around in fake embarrassment and went to pick everything up. She looked up to the small group of Serpents and as hoped, she'd drawn their attention. She made swift eye contact with Sweet, staring at him pointedly for a long second before looking away again, scrambling to get her stuff together, hoping he'd gotten the message.

He had, and as he went around the corner she followed him discretely, making sure no one was around to see. He'd told his friends he'd be there in a second and walked off towards Betty, deliberately kicking a book she was reaching for but not looking at her. She'd glared at him but he'd simply kept walking, turning a corner and waiting for her there.

"What is it?"

He said,

"That was a smart trick but it won't work again."

"Fine, yes I know."

She whispered,

"I read your paper and you're in."

She said excitedly and he grinned,

"Thanks."

"It's really amazing Sweet Pea. All those stories, thank you for telling them to me."

"No problem, as long as it stays between us."

She nodded,

"The column will come out next week and you can start writing for that already if you want or any other part of it anonymously."

He nodded and was about to start walking again when she stopped her with a hand on his arm.

"Now I've said that I need you to know what you said to Jughead."

Her voice had changed, no longer excited but harsh. He took in a breath before answering.

"What?"

"I'm not stupid. I know you said something to him, you were glaring down at him and when he looked at me...He told me he doesn't deserve me but he hadn't thought that yesterday so tell me. What. Did. You. Say to him."

Sweet Pea sighed,

"Nothing. I was in there to drop off the paper when he came in and I made up an excuse."

"What does that have anything to do with this!"

She said, a little louder.

"Quiet down! Okay, I said I was looking for him for my bike but then he was a complete ass I just got carried away and tried to piss him off. I said something I shouldn't have."

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"That he didn't deserve you...That whatever he did he could never get you into the middle of anything dangerous, to treat you properly, and..."

"And what?"

Betty said, less angry but more astonished.

"And that I'd hunt him down if he ever did."

She abruptly let go of his arm, not realising she'd still been holding it.

"Why...Why would you ever say something like that!"

She said, angry and confused. What did this mean?

"I'm sorry, but it's true. He doesn't deserve you."

"And you get to decide that!?"

She roared, outraged, not caring who saw. The halls, however, where luckily enough empty.

"No."

He said after a while and they just stood there in silence before Betty said, her voice flat and void of any emotion.

"You think you deserve me?"

"No."

"But you do like me, don't you?"

He said nothing for so long she thought he might not ever answer.

"Yes. But I will never act on it. I'm sorry I said those things, I was angry and lashed out. But mostly I was jealous. If you want...We don't have to talk anymore. I'll just leave the articles in the Blue and Gold and you can simply text me what to write about, if even that."

But that wasn't what she wanted.

Jellybean admitted to herself that she'd had fun but now she had to call her mom. She'd had a great afternoon spending time with Jughead's friends, they even discussed whether or not Jellybean should have a welcome back party, but as the evening drew nearer she grew more and more anxious. As agreed Jughead was sleeping in his usual bed and Jellybean on the air mattress in the kitchen but he wasn't here just now and she knew she should take her opportunity.

She took a deep breath and dialled her mom's number, almost hoping she wouldn't pick up, just to make it easier on her. But she did.

"Jellybean, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"I'm sorry mom, I've thought of calling you some time now and I'm sorry to have to push you on this but can you please tell me what the secret is."

"I've told you, I simply can't stand to..."

"Please mom, it's very important."

"I'm sorry, I'll talk to you in person next time."

"No please; don't hang up, I just...I want to know please, I promise not to judge you for it or jump to conclusion."

"No Forthysia!"

"Mother! What could you possibly have done that..."

"How many times do we have to have this conversation before you understand!"

Her mother yelled but Jellybean wasn't afraid. She gritted her teeth and practically hissed at her mother,

"This is important, I need to know what it is but if you don't tell me I'll find out myself, without your help. I'll get your record. And this type of thing will not sound better coming from someone else."

"What could you possibly need this for..."

Her mother sucked in a breath as realisation dawned on her,

"Jellybean, you're not seriously considering what I think you are. This is a bad idea! I took you away for a reason, stop now and I'll come and get you!"

"I'd like to see you try. Now for the last time, what is your secret."

Silence came from the other side and Jellybean knew she wasn't going to get the answer, ever. Not from her mother anyway,

"Fine, have it your way."

She said and before her mother could response she hung up.

Oh God, how bad was this going to get?

Had her mother really guessed at their plan and was she really coming to get her?

No, she wouldn't let her, she had to use her coming here to her advantage. This part of the plan was way further down the line but it would have to be moved closer.

Step three was done and she mentally ticked it off, even if unsuccessful, it was done.

And tomorrow, tomorrow step 4 began, the most important of them that would set the rest into motion. The very thing that determined the rest of her childhood

"Yes, I think that would be best."

Betty said, hating to have to say it. He nodded in understanding and without another word he turned around and walked away, heading for his next class. She stared after him for a while before doing the same. She'd really enjoyed talking to Sweet Pea and she'd promised she'd find a way to help him and other Southsiders and she knew it would be impossible to completely ignore him, block him out like they'd never seen each other but she didn't want to play with his feeling either.

She wanted to be close friends with him but she knew she couldn't do that to him when he would always want more.

He liked her, she saw that now but she didn't return the feeling. She loved Jughead and yet she still wanted to spend time with Sweet Pea. Her head began to ache, she'd have to find a solution, and soon. Perhaps she should talk to someone about it, someone who knew him well...

Monday morning came too quickly and Jellybean got onto Sweet Pea's bike and headed for school. Jughead had to be there earlier so he'd left already with a promise he'd take her tomorrow, not that she minded. There were almost more bikes than cars in the school parking and many heads turned at the sight of her, Jughead on a bike wasn't so strange but Jellybean? That was different.

She'd enjoyed unintentionally messing with Sweet Pea but had every intention to give it back today. She parked the bike among the other bikes, leaving Sweet Pea to find it for himself before heading on inside.

She was walking through the school's filled hall when she spotted Jughead coming towards her, looking at little troubled but smiling at her. She smiled back and he slowed to come into step beside her.

"Hey, sis." He said, "You get here alright?"

She nodded,

"Just fine and Sweet Pea's bike is waiting for him with the rest."

Jughead smiled a little,

"Good."

He said, just as the bell rang and said his goodbye before heading another direction to his class. Jellybean kept walking, only she wasn't heading to class.

She reached the School councillor's office, standing before the big wooden door. All she had to do was knock but somehow she couldn't. Did she really want all this? Was this what she was after or was she rushing into things? Should she wait?

She knew she couldn't force her parents together, she couldn't make everyone move to Toronto or to Riverdale under one roof.

But over the last few days, she'd learnt something. It had hitten her all at once and yet it had been little pieces coming together with every kind word, every shared pain until it was just there.

She now knew that she didn't need it all, all the time. She could be happy not seeing her brother all the time, she could be happy living in two places at once, she could be happy moving from one half of her family to the other. She could be happy without having everything, without the perfect family. She was happy already. And perhaps everyone else could be happy with this too.

And that was why she here she reminded herself as she raised her hand to what seemed such a menacing door. Her knuckles brushed the hard wood as her head was filled with determination.

She would do this, for everyone's happiness.

"Come in."

A male voice from inside said and with one last deep breath, Jellybean stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and examined the room. It was bigger than expected but still furnaced simply with one desk with one chair on either end where a man now sat in one. The walls were a simple pink and light blue, all chosen carefully she was sure. The walls were also covered in posters and pictures. One of the horses galloping in a field, another of a waterfall and so on.

The man looked up from his desk at her expectingly and she realised she'd never even taken her hand off the door or taken any more than a tiny step into the room. She took another and the man stood, walking towards her to greet her as she kept putting one foot in front of the other. He put out his hand and she shook it.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Whitman. We've never met before but as it says on the door I'm the school counsellor. And you are?"

"Jellybean Jones or Forthysia."

"Jellybean?"

He asked with a pleasant grin, still holding her hand.

"It's a nickname."

He nodded and let go of her hand, motioning to the seat on the other end of his desk.

"Have a seat and tell me, what would you like to talk about?"

She took the seat, folding her hands in her lap as he took his seat. She didn't say anything for a while as he leant forward, forearms on his desk, waiting patiently.

"I um…" Her voice came out to high and she cleared it before saying, with much more certainly, "I'm here to ask if you can help me get both my parents custody over me."

She'd expected him to be surprised by the unusual request but he only nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, you made the right choice coming to me but why are you asking after this and not your father or mother?"

"Well, I suggested it and I just want to see what my suggestions are but my father knows I want this but my mother doesn't."

"I see, could you please tell me why you want to change the way things are now?"

"Well I realised I can't just live with only one half of my family and I want to change that while I'm still a child."

He smiled,

"That's very mature of you, can you also please describe the relationship you have with both parents and what the living arrangement is?"

"Five years ago me and my mother left Riverdale and moved to Toledo without my father and brother and without them knowing we were. We stayed with my grandparents for a while before getting our own place where we've been living together since then. I'm really close to my mother and love her very much but I only had the occasional phone call with my brother, never visiting him or my father. And that was mainly because of my mother so I can't help but feel angry at her for it.

But just three days ago I ran away and back to Riverdale and met them both once more. We've started to get to know each other and I really want to spend a lot more time with them."

"You ran away and yet your mother didn't report you missing?"

He asked, jotting things down at an incredible speed in an open notebook but she couldn't read the cursive upside down. She shook her head at his question,

"No, I told her where I was going but she didn't stop me or tell me I could go."

He now nodded too,

"I see. So you've spoken to your brother and father and they both want you to sign up, as it were, for shared custody?"

She nodded and he continued,

"And now you want to know your options to change your current living arrangements?"

She nodded again,

"Alright so, this is probably what will happen. Both parents will be brought in before a judge who decides based on a massive amount of factors who should get the most custody or who gets complete custody or whether it will be a joint custody."

She nodded again before adding,

"What kind of factors?"

"Oh, tons. Your age, the wishes of each parent, the relationship with every parent, the mental and physical health of parent and child, the willingness of both parents to support the other's relationship with their child, whether both parents have supplied for the child up to this point, the ability of both parents to supply the child with a loving environment, and the list goes on with many evaluations to fill in."

Jellybean swallowed hard at the list he'd already given, it seemed at this point almost impossible she could get live with her father at all.

"Do you...Do you think my father has a chance…?"

He nodded, smiling at her,

"It's a difficult, long procedure but of course he does. I'll work through everything with you and you should bring in your father too and soon enough, with your mother present too we'll make a case before the judge. Riverdale is a small town, I know the woman who will be your judge and she's a lovely, reasonable person."

She nodded again, her eyebrows scrunched together in worry.

"What about my brother, could he have it too?"

"Absolutely."

He said and something about him, which she knew was intentional made her want to trust him. She wasn't sure how this would work out but she could only hope it would all be alright.

After Betty found the papers missing.

Betty didn't know what to do. Someone had taken the paper's, perhaps an angry Southsider who didn't want her having Southsider's secrets in her hand or worse, a Northsider who thought it was there's to take. Or maybe Jughead had taken them, she hoped he had because she'd take having to tell him everything over having to face Sweet Pea after the papers were published.

She wasn't sure if she could even face him now. After what she'd said to him, could she really bring him this news after he'd trusted her with this and warned her of its importance?

Betty didn't know what to do, she'd let someone down, she'd been careless, and that felt like the worst feeling in the world.


	23. Written in Blood

Chapter 23: Written in blood  
Sweet pea couldn't believe how stupid he'd been but he was glad he'd at least told Betty the truth. He might be a Serpent but he wasn't about to steal another man's girl, especially not a Serpent's.

Besides, she'd just confirmed what he already knew, the feeling wasn't mutual. She didn't like him back and now they wouldn't talk again. He never wanted that but he understood, it was what was best for both of them. His feelings for her wouldn't grow and eventually, they'd fade away, as all high school crushes did. And were supposed to.

He wondered the school during break time, not in the mood to be around the other Serpents or friends at the moment. They'd know something was up anyway if he was around them.

Instead, he just thought, recalling all the events of Saturday evening, already starting to muddle up in his head, talking to Betty and afterwards heading for school to find a place to sleep.

He'd slept comfortably enough, lying down on the small sofa in the blue and Gold room with nothing but his jacket to keep him warm, his feet sticking out over the end which honestly, with his size was the case with most sofas.

He recalled what Betty had said about finding a way to help Southside kids like himself and wondered what she'd had in mind that she needed to know about Mama Felicia and the interest she'd had in it.

He ended up wandering in the parking lot and remembered what Jughead had said about his bike. And indeed, among the bikes, he recognised his own, perfectly blended in with the rest, as if it had never been out of place.

He came closer and confirmed that it was indeed unscratched and not empty of all fuel. His pride and bed for the night seemed to have been the only thing damaged this night.

But now his bike was returned to him, he still had a favour from Jughead. And once he used it, he'd make sure it would be a pain in the neck for Jughead and most entertaining for him.

Jellybean returned to class, Mr. Whitman note, explaining her short absence in her hand. She handed it to her history teacher and took a seat, every person in the class looking at her. She took her seat awkwardly and paid attention for the rest of the class period, losing herself in it.

She'd always loved history and had a fascination for changes in government, society and its people around the world.

But now she listened to keep herself distracted from everything and everyone else.

She knew child custody was a messy, long procedure with endless papers but she hadn't been prepared for how much it really was.

She'd gotten one folder of paper to start out with, with much more to come. There were forms for her and her father to fill in, with endless question and leaflets full of information and detail after detail of every small part.

Her father and her would be coming regularly to Mr. Whitman's office in the coming days, getting new forms to fill in and going over the ones already done, answering more questions, signing more papers. But just her dad wouldn't be enough, the hardest person to have to get there would be her mom.

That had always been a known possibility and they'd already planned the whole thing out. Kath was going to get her to Riverdale and keep her here until Jughead would meet her and talk to her and then decide whether he wanted his mother back in his life or not. Either way, she had to legally be part of the custody trial.

She tried to distract herself as long as possible, be a normal kid in normal class but English was just so incredibly boring she couldn't help it. She turned to the forms and fill the ones out addressed to her as well as she could.

They started off easy enough, name, age, gender, sex, current living situation, current address(es) but as it went on the questions got harder and harder and grew more and more personal which she supposed shouldn't be surprising but the audacity of some of these questions…

'How would she rate her parent(s) capability at providing her with regular meals'

'How would she rate her parent(s) capability at providing a loving environment'

She shook her head and closed the folder again, tucking it under her English textbook, these questions were too complicated and would drive her nuts.

By break time she still hadn't cheered up and headed for the canteen in a gloomy, hopeless mood. She debated sitting at Jughead's friends' table in the canteen where every one of his friends but he sat. She stared at the table of six for a minute, trying to make up her mind before letting her eyes wander on the other tables until they stopped at a familiar face. In a table at the far end of the canteen sat Zoe, along with another girl and Jellybean really wanted to talk to Zoe again but wasn't sure whether she should go and ask or wait until she was alone. But she didn't exactly want to just stand here waiting for something that might not happen any time soon, neither did she want to sit by herself.

She went with her gut and approached the table of two girls.

They must have heard or seen her coming because they both looked up as one, Zoe's face breaking out into a grin, the other's was indifferent.

"Hey Zoe, mind if I sit?"

Jellybean asked, also making eye contact with the other girl as she asked for permission.

"Yeah obsoletely," Zoe said before introducing the older girl with a gesture of her hand. "This is my sister, Lilly."

"Double l."

Lilly clarified and smiled at Jellybean politely,

"And sis, this is Jellybean,"

Understanding dawned on the girl's face and her smile changed, no longer polite but like she knew her. Maybe Zoe had told her about Jellybean?

"Nice to meet you, my sister's told you all about you, welcome back in town."

Lilly said before slinging her bag over one shoulder and rising, giving each girl a last smile before heading to a different table of girls that greeted her happily. Jellybean couldn't help but feel guilty for making her move. Even though she felt flattered that Zoe talked about her.

"She just wants to give us a chance to talk."

Zoe said and Jellybean nodded in understanding,

"That's nice of her."

She said before taking a seat.

"So how was the rest of your weekend?"

Jellybean asked and Zoe shrugged,

"Pretty uneventful, yours?"

"Mostly hectic but still nice,"

She said and told Zoe about meeting her dad, the White Worm and the bike. Zoe listened intently, not interrupting apart from to say,

"You rode a motorbike? Wow. And you went to the White Worm in the Southside? You're my woman in the inside!"

Jellybean laughed before telling her about this morning before asking back to Zoe's weekend.

The two talked about the past few days before turning to one of the few things they really had in common, art. And Alice.

"Alice? She's not here is she?"

Jellybean asked, referring to the canteen and the school in general.

Zoe shook her head and Jellybean couldn't help feel just a little relieved, too much was going on already for long lost friends to reunite. But once she was properly settled in she would find her, even if just to say hi.

"She moved to a school in Riverdale, some business thing with her father and her mother works as a teacher at a school there."

Jellybean nodded and they returned to discussing art and paintings and from a few tables over Jughead watched.

He'd actually come in the canteen short after Jellybean had, watching her take the last few steps to the table with two girls already seated at it. He thought of calling after her but then changed his mind. She had to make friends of her own, not just hang out with her brother, as much as he wanted that.

He took a seat next to Betty, greeting her with a kiss but not engaging in any conversation going around the table.

After their heated moment dis morning, she'd opened her notepad and started sketching, explaining as she went about her new idea for a Southside slash Serpent column in the blue and gold. He liked the idea and loved her even more for thinking of it.

Now he just ate and occasionally glanced up at Jellybean, just checking on her. She seemed happy enough from what he could see with her back to him, she laughed and talked and the other girl listened the laughed and talked too. He'd seen the other girl before but never particularly noticed her. They already seemed like close friends.

Betty must have noticed his distress because she lay a hand on his thigh. He smiled and laid his hand under hers, knitting his fingers into hers, she obliged and squeezed his hand for a second before letting their hands rest on his thigh again.

He looked over to Jellybean again and noticed she'd never even taken her bag off, the one strap still over her shoulder while the bag rested on the bench beside her. He didn't come over for the whole of the lunchtime break but as the bell finally rang he rose as everyone else packed their stuff together and began walking towards her slowly. She'd risen the same time he had and turned around, walking towards him with the other girl beside her.

"What do you have now?"

Zoe asked and Jellybean checked her schedule again,

"Science."

"Oh, alright, I have math."

"Sucks for you."

Jellybean said when she noticed Jughead.

"Jughead, hi!" She said as they came to a stop in front of each other, Zoe still beside her. "This is Zoe, a good friend of mine, who was also a friend of Alice if you remember her."

"Vaguely," Jughead said, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Zoe said and then turned to Jellybean,

"See ya later Jellybean."

She said and Jellybean returned the farewell before Zoe walked off.

Jellybean and Jughead kept walking, falling in step beside one another, Jughead on her left, in the direction of Jellybean's class, everyone else doing the same.

"So, what's up?"

Jughead asked once they walked out of the canteen, joining the many students in the hallways. Jellybean was about to answer when Betty stepped in on Jughead's left, she didn't mean to push in, she only wanted to be polite and welcoming, still feeling a little guilty about what she'd told her mom about Jellybean being the cause of Jughead's misery which she now could tell she really wasn't. She now realised that when their parents were at each other's throats the two siblings kept each other sane.

"Great well, everything's a little hectic."

Jellybean answered Jughead's question when Betty didn't say anything.

"It wouldn't be Riverdale if it wasn't."

Betty said smiling and Jughead snorted,

"Yeah, you're right about that."

"My class is this way," Betty said, "So see you guys later, good luck on your first full week of school,"

She said to Jellybean, who nodded in thanks before she turned to Jughead,

"And you, keep her out of trouble,"

"Me? Get her in trouble?"

Jughead asked in fake offence and Betty shook her head.

"You forget, I heard about the bike and saw you drive in dis morning,"

Before Jughead could ask who she'd heard it from she kissed him on the cheek and with a final 'bye' headed off to class.

Jughead and Jellybean continued walking, having stopped when Betty did to announce her departure.

"More like I need to keep you out of trouble, Serpent."

Jellybean joked and Jughead snorted again,

" 'Says the girl who went on a bike at 14 for the first time, without a helmet."

"I'm basically 15, no fair."

Jellybean defended herself and Jughead laughed at her fake childish tone, a moment of silence passed between them and Jellybean sighed.

"Well, step four is done."

She said, peeking his interests and she told him all about it, pulling out the folder of questions and sharing her panic at how impossible it was and how unlikely her father was going to get much custody over her the way things were now.

"I'm really worried Jughead, this says I have to be in a home with sufficient amount of bedrooms," She said, handing him a leaflet about living conditions, "I mean, you don't even have your own bedroom, let alone me. How will dad.."

She was visibly panicking, everything she'd felt the past hours at school resurfacing and spewing out. Jughead stopped and put his hands on either of her shoulders, forcing her to turn and face him.

"Jellybean, we'll talk to dad about it. He'll figure something out. Don't worry, me and dad, we're going to fight hard for you, we're not going down without a fight."

She nodded, her breath returning to normal,

"Right, yes. I know that."

She said, reassuring herself as much as Jughead.

"Now is there any of those millions of forms for me to fill in?"

Jughead said smiling and she couldn't help but return his grin.

"Definitely,"

She said and handed him the ones Mr. Whitman had advised to leave to him and some addressed to her dad he knew the answers to.

And she hoped, once Jughead saw his mom he'd go to Mr. Whitman too and ask for the same pile of unending forms and let her help him through it.

"Step four is complete, you ready to bring mom into town? Just tell me when and I can call Kath and she'll be here whenever you want her to be."

Jellybean asked, not sure how to phrase it better and Jughead thought about it for a moment, even though he was already sure about his answer.

"How about tonight and tomorrow the tree of us, you, me and dad go through as much as the papers as possible, you and da go to your appointments with Mr. Whitman and then when everything is into motion and mom can't pull us back from it, we'll get mom. Because however, dad has been doing it over the last few years he can't fake her approval on your shared custody. And I also know, whatever she's done she doesn't deserve to lose her daughter the same way we did."

"Yes, you're right. And I know we legally can't do this without bringing her into it or dad will be caught trying. But you're ready to see her when the time comes?"

She asked nervously, passing down the next corridor to her classroom.

"I wasn't really ready to see you either, simply because I had accepted you weren't coming back and I wasn't aware I had to be ready. But that went fine, didn't it?"

He said with a smile,

"I know this is different, and it's odd because I know it's going to happen, I know that. But I know, if I really wanted that I have the choice to not see her. I'm scared to see her, but also happy. But if I don't do it know, God knows when I will."

"Yeah, I get that." Jellybean said, "Speaking of…"

She said and told him all about her dream.

"Wow, that is amazing. It didn't happen to mention who I was married to, did it?"

He said with a grin, deliberately completely missing the point. She smiled,

"Well, at least you know it's a she."

She said with a pointed look and he laughed,

"Only in your dream or that universe."

He said and now she laughed,

"Indeed, in this universe….I'm not so sure."

Jughead grinned again and a second of silence stretched as Jellybean came up to her classroom.

"Well, this is me."

She said, standing a bit aside to the open door where students were filing in.

"Where's your class?"

Jellybean asked, stopping to face Jughead.

"MC12."

Jughead said and even though Jellybean hadn't been here long enough to know where that was she knew the MC halls were on the far, other end of the school.

"Jughead!" She scolded him, "That's nowhere near here!"

"I know."

He said with a shrug and she looked at him in exasperation,

"Well, go then!"

She said, throwing her hands up and pushing him away. He smirked at her persistence and took a few steps backwards before turning around and sprinting back to where he was supposed to be. Jellybean saw him weave through a couple of students still getting to class before turning back to her own and stepping inside.

She walked in and found she wasn't the first nor the last to take her spot. She took the free seat beside Zoe who smiled at her as she looked for a place to sit.

"Hey, Zoe,"

"Hey, Jo,"

She said, her hair looking redder than ever.

"I thought you said you had Math."

Jellybean said, confused.

"I know but I just wanted to give you and Jughead a second to talk."

Jellybean smiled, of course, she'd been so considerate,

"Thanks, Zoe. By the way, did you dye your hair again or something…?"

Jellybean asked as she pulled her books out of her bag, Zoe's books were already laid out before her.

"Yes. Glad you noticed, added a little more fuel to the flames."

She joked and Jellybean looked at her again, or more pacifically, her hair.

"Yeah, I like it, it's like a living fire, or fire spewed from a dragon's mouth."

"Ooh, I like that," Zoe said, flattered. "So I was thinking," She continued. "What do you say we meet up somewhere. But maybe not the three house but somewhere you can eat."

"Oh yes, food."

Jellybean agreed, hungry since she hadn't even gotten any lunch.

"Great," Zoe continued. "Do you know any places, or remember them from five years ago?"

Jellybean shook her head,

"No, just Pop's. But I'm not the hugest fan."

"Yeah, me neither," Zoe agreed, "I don't get what the big deal is."

"I know right. Glad to hear someone else say it. Jughead spends hours at that place."

"I know, so do his friends and many other people from school here especially."

"So it there any other place you like?"

"Oh yes, I like this juice bar and its great because you get your juice then if you walk you get to my parent's cafe just as you finish it and there they serve the best cakes and cupcakes."

Zoe explained, a routine she'd done many times before with different people, but with Jellybean she wanted to do something a little different, though she wasn't sure what just yet.

Jellybean loved the idea and voiced her enthusiasm.

"Wow, that does sound great. I didn't know your parents had a cafe."

"Oh, didn't I mention that? Well, they're both lawyers, working out of town often in different cases so they wanted to do something together, hence owning a cafe. But they only actually work there themselves on weekends or when they don't have a case and I do most days, like my brothers."

"Wow, that's cool! We have to go there."

"Yeah, but due to Pop's popularity not many people do so it might close down soon."

Jellybean looked at her sadly, a pity that a favourite like Pop's meant the end to other businesses.

"Anyway," Zoe said, smiling once again, "When should we go?"

Jellybean bit her lip, thinking.

"Right um, today and tomorrow I'm going through the paperwork for the shared custody but Wednesday?"

"Yes, absolutely, Wednesday it is!"

In truth, Zoe had meant the weekend so she could see her parents and maybe introduce Jellybean to them but maybe that wasn't a good start for their first…..Thing together.

She'd honestly been worrying a little about that moment in the tree house and how Jellybean had reacted but maybe she was just looking too much into it. She now grinned at her new friend and was about to say something when the teacher came in.

She gave Jellybean one last smile before turning her attention to the board, pen in hand but even for the rest of the class a small smile remained on her pretty face.

After school, which ended without further interesting occurrences Jellybean got on the back of Jughead's bike, helmet on and holding onto his waist as they headed for the trailer. Jughead went fast, she guessed he was trying to cheer her up but still even if she whooped at the speed of their travel her stomach was still tied in knots, tumbling with nerves.

Jughead had just called their father, telling him to expect them at home and that she had the files with her to be looked at.

And soon enough she would know if she could actually live with her father and brother once more. But until then she felt sick with doubt, anticipation and worry.

Could FP really provide for the both of them with nothing more than a Diner job?

She wasn't sure and knew Jughead, as much as he told her about his confidence their father could do it, didn't know either.

They arrived at their trailer and at the sight of her father a weight was lifted off her but not completely, all the other confusing feelings were still all there.

He had been waiting for them outside and even though she knew he wasn't too much of a hugging person he stilled pulled her in for a quick embrace.

"Back to the courtroom, ey dad?"

Jughead joked as they went on inside. Fp snorted, something Jughead must have gotten from him, given the amount of time both men did it.

"Yes, only this time I'm not being accused of murder…Well, at least not yet anyway."

He muttered the last under his breath and Jellybean knew what he meant.

Fair enough, Jellybean thought. God knows what her mother would accuse Fp of doing once she learnt about everything going on here. Her mom already suspected something. that had been clear from their phone call yesterday. Her mother and her weren't on bad terms exactly, but once they met again in Riverdale, all hell might just break lose.

The three Jones's all sat around the small kitchen table and Jellybean pulled out her file of papers. She separated everything into piles of who should be filing in what and whatever was left over covered the rest of the table, not an inch of it was left uncovered by endless white sheets.

"Alright," Jellybean said, pulling out a handful of pens and laying them down on the table, "Step 5 commences."

Jellybean said and they began step 5, filling in all the papers and forms that seemed unending, signature after signature, question after question, making lists of requirements and important notes. They worked for hours, the piles thinning as all the finished ones returned to Jellybean's bag. Jughead stopped at one point to order Chinese take away over the phone but otherwise, they worked, discussing or in silence until the sun went down.

They ate their food carefully, not getting any of it on the papers. As much as they worked through every sheet in sight one remained a few remained untouched. But they seemed to glare at the three of them, never leaving them be, but no one dared to bring up any discussion about it or even pick it up or read it. They all knew what it was by the big black title and eventually, Fp did pick them up and tried filling it in. The papers concerning Jellybean's living conditions, the physical part of it.

Fp read it over and sighed,

"Well, I think it is high time either way that Jughead gets a room of his own, a proper one so we might as well organise that while we're at it."

No one dared respond to that. And he silently read on until Jellybean eventually said,

"Dad, you…"

Before she could say anything more he stopped her with a hand, not taking his eyes off the sheet for a long moment.

"No, I can do it." He said, running his hand through his hair, "I've been getting money to Gladys for some time now, and quite a bit too, she can repay some of that, she has to. And I have spared for a while now, I can work extra shifts, and take out a lone at the bank or even take in some Serpent depts."

Jellybean was watching Jughead and she noticed his shoulder slightly drop at the mention of Serpent depts. He was a Serpent himself but he clearly hated and feared his father getting into the middle of something like this.

"Dad, please don't do anything…unnecessary. That'll only get you into trouble or jail." Jellybean said, "Or even if you don't get caught, I don't want to live like that."

He'd do anything to keep his daughter but if this meant his girl might just walk away from him it wasn't worth the risk. And besides, he knew how much she meant to Jughead.

"Of course JB, I'll do it right and we'll get the money, I promise. And even if it's just a bigger trailer they won't be able to pull you away. We will get you a better home."

She nodded and even though she knew this was what everyone wanted she felt guilty for making them spend all their money on a new house.

"I'll go to the bank and see a real estate agent tomorrow."

He said and Jellybean and Jughead both truly believed him and believed in him.

For now, and when everyone went to bed the sheets remained blank but soon enough they'd get filled in and submitted.


	24. Broken Hope

Chapter 24: broken hope

Enjoy.  
The next day went much the same, just normal, casual school, to Jellybean's relief. Her dad met with Mr. Whitman and as the day went on they become closer and closer to getting everything done. During break and lunch Jughead and his friends pushed two canteen tables together and then all sat around the long table, Zoe and Jellybean included and helped with the paperwork. At first, Cheryl turned her nose up at the job, earning a glare from Jughead but after a few minutes, she was helping too. They all stacked the paper's in the right order, checking all answers and inquiring to Jughead or Jellybean if any of it sounded off and made sure everything that was supposed to be signed was indeed signed. Three exhausted people doing this late at night definitely made mistakes.  
Soon enough news spread and many curious glances were thrown their way, people looking over their shoulders as they passed at the odd sight of a bunch of high schoolers leaning over a table looking through papers. By the end of the day, everyone knew of the move and the Jones' became the centre of attention. Each sibling was equally congratulated but of course, the rumours ran wild. Rumours explaining why she'd left in the first place and why she was coming back now. Jellybean had heard a few herself, some close to the truth others almost scandalous. Someone actually believed that her mother had remarried and Jellybean had run away because she didn't like her new daddy or that there was a new Jones' on the way. She didn't care much for the rumours, they amused her more than anything else. No one said anything mean, it was just high schoolers being high schoolers and when they didn't know something they made the most dramatic story out of it.  
Jellybean made no move to correct them, letting their imaginations run wild and anyway, what would be the point? Jughead seemed to be of the same opinion.  
As the day continued uneventfully and her stress seemed to fall away in chunks she felt more and more excited for spending the day with Zoe tomorrow and after that for Kath to come. She hadn't seen her in four days but so much had happened it felt like months had gone past. But for now, she could just live in the moment and not worry about anything. Or at least only about normal, mundane, high schooler things.  
And as she walked down the hall beside Zoe and saw Betty and Jughead in the distance, his arm slung over her shoulder Jellybean thought he probably was enjoying the same thing too. But she knew it wouldn't last. As much as she tried not to dwell on it that fact it kept creeping back into her mind. They still needed to get her mother involved in this mess, there was still a small stack of paper's waiting for her at Mr. Whitman's office.  
She went to normal classes for the rest of the day, aside from getting the new papers from the school counselor's office, and rejoiced at the sound of the bell signifying the end of school. Just because she liked normal didn't mean she loved school. She got out as fast as everyone else and went to the parking lot to wait for Jughead, who unlike the last time wasn't there to pick her up. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen.  
She kept looking, thinking she'd spotted him when it was just another Southsider and waited as car after car and motorbike left the school parking. Zoe had offered Jellybean a ride on her bus, suggesting she'd walk her home from her house but Jellybean had declined, not wanting to stand up her brother. But the longer she waited the more she began to think he'd stood her up. 10 minutes later she wished she had taken Zoe's offer and she went inside to see if he was there. She thought of the most likely place he would be, were he still in school, she guessed the blue and gold but didn't actually know where that was. She hunted the school and eventually found it. They should really put some signs up in this place she thought as she reached the door. Expecting it to be locked she tried the door handle in frustration but to her surprise the door flung open, causing her to accidentally burst in, stumbling inside. She recovered to find that Jughead was indeed in this room. And so was Betty. And the two of them had been extremely startled by her entrance and now everyone was staring at each other and after the shock died down everyone was simply very, very embarrassed. Could have been worse, Jellybean thought. They were both fully dressed, Betty propped up on the desk and Jughead standing in front of her, hands on her thighs.  
"I'm sorry, I kind of expected it to be locked."  
Jellybean said, justifying her entrance as the two broke apart awkwardly, Jughead stepping away from the desk.  
"Sorry, my mistake."  
Jughead said, facing his sister whose hand was still on the door handle.  
"I was just looking for you and thought…."  
Jellybean said when Jughead interrupted, swearing.  
"Oh, I completely forgot. I was meant to drive you home, wasn't I?"  
He said and she nodded awkwardly before he started putting his stuff together. Jellybean waited for him and happened to glance over at Betty then did a double take. She was surprised to find the blonde looking very sad. Jellybean wouldn't have been had she just been in Betty's position. But of course not with her brother. Ewe.   
Jellybean shook her head to shake of the thought and went back to thinking why Betty looked so sad. Jellybean had become good at reading people and situations and suddenly realised that it was because of how many times Jughead had put herself before Betty. Coming to her aid whenever she needed it, cancelling God knows how many plans he'd had with Betty. Jellybean couldn't believe how she hadn't realised that before and suddenly felt very guilty for she was about to do it again. The hell, she had two feet, she could walk.  
"You know what, I can get there myself."  
She said as Jughead stood before her with all his bags together. He looked at her in concern.  
"You sure?"  
He asked, wondering if she was mad at him for forgetting about her.  
"Yeah sure." She said, "I need the exercise anyway but then you need to bring this."  
She said and pulled out the folder of papers, dumping it on a conveniently placed sofa.  
"Thanks a lot, sis." He said as he picked up the folder and stuffed it in his bag. "But be careful, Sunnyside is in Southside after all. Here's the key."  
He said, throwing it to her. She caught it with ease and glanced at Betty, who's usual beaming smile returned and mouthed Jellybean a 'thank you.' Jughead had no idea why Jellybean was doing this but Betty caught onto those things fast.  
Jellybean nodded and said her goodbyes before heading out, firmly closing the door behind her, leaving the two of them to their thing. She took the most direct route back out of school and started the long tedious walk home, deciding she'd probably stop somewhere on the way, a cafe or something, maybe even the one Zoe's parents owned. The thought made her hungrily. But luckily her bag wasn't such a drag to carry around anymore since it was a lot lighter because she'd actually unpacked her clothes into the little space left in the wardrobe at the trailer.  
She checked her phone and found no new messages, feeling a little disappointed she hadn't heard from Kath. She shrugged it off and plugged her headphones in, putting her playlist on shuffle.  
She went on, passing through the streets of Northside, passing luxurious house after luxurious house, wondering if she could ever live in a house like that. A few cars passed but no people. After a while, she began cursing herself for not just stealing Jughead's bike, though she guessed that was Betty's ride too. She was just singing along to one of her favourite songs in her head when she suddenly had a strong feeling she was watched, a feeling that burned in the back of her neck. She looked over her shoulder but there was no one, she was the only one on the footpath. She tried shrugging it off and kept moving, a little faster than before but still the feeling didn't leave her. She lost herself in her music soon enough but still, she felt that constant need to look over her shoulder, to check for any threat. She did twice but there was still nothing. Was she going crazy? Or was this what happened when there was nothing to worry about, her mind just made things up? She found that hard to believe.  
She kept moving and sound enough the sense was pushed back into the far end of her mind. She checked her phone once more, Adele still blasting in her ear when suddenly everything happened at once. She was violently pushed forward from behind, straight into the road she'd been a few steps from crossing only now there was a car screeching to a halt just before her. She balanced herself but before she could turn and run or turn on her attacker she screamed as two hands twisted her arms behind her back and the car door opened from the inside. A foul hand clamped her mouth shut as she continued to scream for help but there was no one around to hear. No one was driving at this time of day either. She tried to twist, seeing if she could even just get a glimpse of her attacker but whoever it was simply tightened the grip on her arm, all the while Adele still blasting in her ears. Her headphones were ripped from her ears painfully and she heard a crunching sound, someone must have stepped on her phone. She tried to bite her attacker's finger but before she could her head was pushed down and she pushed into the car, her arms released. She stumbled and fell in hard, the door slammed shut behind her. She tried sticking her foot between the door and the car, trying anything to get away. She managed it but as the door came down on her foot she screamed in agony, she practically heard her foot break.  
But she forced herself to kick the door open but before she could make any move to get out, the door was slammed shut again. And this time she couldn't bear let her foot get hit again, she was in too much pain, she retracted it as she whimpered in pain. A few seconds later the car shot forward, so fast she almost fell off the back seat, just flinging her arms out in time to catch herself. Her foot hit the floor hard and she cried out again. Her head spun with pain but she refused to give up. She half dragged herself to the door and tried frantically to open it as the car sped along, although she wasn't sure how she would even manage to get out with her foot in its current state if she did manage to open it. But jumping out of a moving vehicle at this speed would probably be better than what her kidnappers had in plan for her.  
This couldn't be happening she thought as she slammed at the windows, fists throbbing as she begged them against the plastic glass with all her might. The windows were blackened, probably from both sides so no one could see her. And at this speed, no one would even hear her.  
There was no way out.  
She sobbed and screamed as her adrenaline slowly sapped away and with it the pain in her foot became worse, so much so she was afraid she would pass out in pain. Her mind went into overdrive, she wasn't rich, her father couldn't even afford a three bedroom house. She wasn't anyone important so why was she being kidnapped? Her thoughts were too jumbled up to think straight, to think through the pain, through the panicked crying.  
Who could possibly need her? What was she worth kidnapping for? What had she done? Why was she worth ransoming and going through all this trouble? Then it dawned on her, which people were always captured? The loved ones. The loved ones of however had done something wrong to the kidnappers.  
Jughead, Fp, her mom? Who was she being held for? What had they done? Who were her kidnappers?  
Who had her family wronged? The Serpents? No, or maybe.  
She stopped trying to think and gave up, it was all she could do. She curled up in her seat, bouncing along, clutching her knees to her chest, utterly defeated. She tried to move her foot to the most comfortable position, she needed the pain to stop. But whatever she did just hurt even more.  
The movement of the car jumbled her around but she refused to put the seatbelt on. She knew she was powerless and defeated but she would never, never give up the little control she had.   
After no more than 10 minutes they stopped and she didn't even try to stop her fall as she was thrown against the seat in front of her. Her foot hurt so much her mind almost felt like it had gone numb, only the pain was sharp as ever and it was unending like it had always been there and always would but she'd never get used to it. A man opened the door but she didn't even look up, she just stayed on her spot on the floor. He barked something to her like,   
"Get up"   
and she looked up. He was standing by the door, waiting impatiently for her to pull herself together and had a red scarf covering the bottom half of his face up to his eyes. She tried rising, knowing if he tried picking her up he'd make it as painful for her as possible. She struggled but managed and even debated an escape but where would she go and there was sure to be more than one man between her and freedom. She couldn't take her own weight on her foot, let alone defeat the guy before her, forget it, escape was impossible. She searched for a Serpent tattoo on the man but found none, instead, it was one she hadn't seen before, perhaps it was another gang or just a random tattoo. She had no way of knowing. 

She wobbled as she tried to get out of the car. The man seemed to leave just enough time to see her suffer the most before collapsing and realise the hopelessness of her situation before nodding. The nod brought two other men forward from behind him and the two of them hauled her out of the car. She whimpered as they put her down hard on her painful foot but she dare not struggle as they tied her hands together but she did look both of them dead in the eyes. Hoping it would fill them with the most terrible regret and guilt that would keep them awake for weeks to come. They each wore the same scarfs as their leader, or whoever the man was who'd given them orders. One man's glare was cold, his face harsh and square, the other's eyes were warmer and full of regret and apology. He clearly hadn't signed up for this or at least he'd been very desperate.   
They pushed her forward and she winced as her foot hit the floor, she hobbled along on one foot the rest of the way and no one complained. Had she been older or a man they would definitely have knocked her out a lot earlier, or perhaps there was something to her that they wouldn't do it. She couldn't think what but maybe some sort of deal.  
Whatever the case these men definitely weren't Serpents, and that terrified her most. But she could tell they hadn't even left town and were in the centre or suburbs of Southside. But that only meant that in the extremely unlikely event that she would escape she would have to run less far or hop.  
They must have driven around in circles and taken extreme detours for it to have taken as long as it did to get here.  
She was terrified for her life and would do anything to come out of this alive and unharmed. She'd read and heard of enough stories to know what kidnappers do to young girls.  
They pushed her further into the entrance of some sort of bar, her head was held down but she could tell by the smell of alcohol and smoke that almost stuck to the walls. She could see no more than her feet beneath her and the wooden planks of the bar's floor. Soon they turned and started descending steps, she was being brought to some sort of cellar which she was sure served more than just one purpose. They opened a door and ushered her inside a small room, she couldn't see anything but the outline of her feet now the room was so dark. They led her to a chair and plopped her down on it, retying her hands. And finally, something she'd knows was coming, the bag over her head. She was surrounded by darkness, her heart hammering in her chest and its echo the only sound apart from the retreating footsteps of her captures as they left the room.  
Were they going to leave her here alone? For how long? Why?  
Her questions were answered soon enough,  
"Hello, dear."  
Came a sickly sweet female voice from in front of her. She startled at the sound, she hadn't even heard her approach or even her breath. God knows how loud Jellybean's own breath was. Had Jughead or FP heard the same voice she had they would have sworn to cut her head off and would have spat in her face. But luckily for Jellybean, she'd never heard the voice before or met the horrible person it belonged to. And all the horrible things she'd done. If she had she wouldn't have survived her own fear.

And Betty thought she was having a bad day…  
She'd helped a lot with Jellybean's papers but every other spare minute she'd spend searching for Sweet Pea's draft. She searched every classroom, the blue and gold twice more, her locker, everywhere but didn't find them. She was starting to think that perhaps, just maybe someone had taken them. She had to tell Jughead, or at least ask him whether he'd seen anything. But when she wasn't doing that she went to class and heard many rumours explaining Jellybean's return, many fell silent as she walked past, knowing her relationship with Jughead but she'd already heard plenty, Veronica telling her most and the worst of the ones she'd heard.  
Betty decided, to take the attention a bit of Jellybean's and Jughead's private life and give them a day of peace to give the students something else to talk about. She released the school paper a day early, the Southside column included.  
It was definitely effective, she was glared at wherever she went, even by Southsiders, they didn't want Northside's pity. The Bulldogs were the most upset out of all the students. The way she saw it was that yes, most Southsiders were gang members but these Southsiders were students at this school so they deserved a voice of their own.  
She wasn't expecting any volunteers for the column any time soon but she still felt slightly disappointed when no one came and no letter or anything like that was left at the blue and gold.  
She returned to the writing room after school and found Jughead already there, working on an article,  
"Hey, Jug?" She asked as she came in, closing the door behind her.   
"Have you seen a few papers stapled together, I thought they were on my desk but I must have misplaced them?"  
She asked, not letting any of her panic show. "Ugh, don't talk to me about papers, I've seen enough in two days for a whole lifetime."  
He said jokingly, getting up from his desk and walking towards her, "But no, I haven't seen any I thought would be yours. Why what was on them?"  
He said as he slung his arms around her waist on either side and rested them on her lower back, pulling her close. She hated lying to him, especially when he was looking at her the way he was now but…  
"Nothing, just something for the Serpent column."  
She said, not exactly lying.  
"Oh," He said, "A volunteer."  
She shook her head,  
"Not quite, but something like that."  
He hummed, not asking after it any further. Instead, he bent down and kissed her. She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. As Jughead smiled back, his hands slipping lower. Not long after Jellybean had come in and he had no idea what a mistake he'd just made in letting Jellybean go on her own.  
He stayed at the blue and gold a while longer after that, discussing with Betty that perhaps he should write the first article in the Southside column, just to kick things off. But Betty thought it would look more inclusive if Toni did it, someone, who didn't write for the blue and gold but was still a Southside. Other than that and talking about some other stuff they indeed did make out a lot. But that's beside the point.  
Soon enough Jughead left with Betty and went to go find his sister, seeing where she'd gotten to. He tried calling her but she didn't pick up. But he thought nothing of it, thinking she'd probably gotten there and left her phone in the other room or it was dead. Whatever the case he decided to get Betty home first and then find his sister. see if she was home or on the way. He drove quickly, not wanting to leave Jellybean to all the paperwork.  
He got home shortly after and found the trailer locked, he took the spare key from under the doormat and went inside but Jellybean wasn't in. He called for her as he wandered around the small trailer but she clearly wasn't there.  
He headed outside and called her name again,  
"Forthysia!"  
He began to worry. He'd taken the straightest route here, with a small detour to Betty's, he would have seen her on the road. Perhaps she'd gotten lost or taken the wrong way he thought and got back on his bike. He raced around the nearby streets of Riverdale but couldn't find her anywhere. He was starting to get really worried.  
He called Toni, it could be a false alarm but with the black hood and the Ghoulies he didn't want to take the chance, he had to find his sister.  
"Toni, my sister's missing. She's not at home, she was supposed to go there an hour ago, I couldn't see her on the way here either."  
Toni filled in the blanks for him,  
"It's alright Jughead, she'll be okay, she's got some kick, the Serpent's are on top of it."  
And she hung up, It's why Jughead had called her. She was fast and effective and didn't ask questions. As much as he loved Betty that's what she did, wanting to know every last detail. And Sweet Pea worked in favours, he didn't need that on top of everything.  
He drove his engine faster and dialled his dad's phone number. No one picked up so he left a voicemail explaining everything.  
The longer he drove without finding her the more he felt like something terrible had happened to her. He couldn't lose her again, that was for sure. Soon he was accompanied on his hunt by almost every Serpent his age and he commanded them each to go a different direction with a wave of his hand. Not a street in Riverdale, North or South was left unstarched.  
Still nothing.  
Jughead started to worry that nothing had happened to Jellybean but she'd simply left town, heading back for Toledo.  
No, she wouldn't do that, not after how hard they were working to keep her here. Besides, all her stuff was in the trailer. He neglected the idea, it was just his fear talking. But something had happened to her and he was going to find out what and save her from it. He swore that if he found the person, if it was a person who'd harmed her, he'd tear them from limb to limb.  
He passed around another sharp bend and came to a screeching halt as a family tried to cross the road. The man swore at him and the woman glared at him as she ushered her children forward. He raised his hand in apology and waited for them to cross the road when his eyes fell on something lying on the pavement beside the road. He drove onto the pavement and bent to pick it up. It was Jellybean's, no doubt about it. Thank God she had such a distinguishable phone.  
He held the crushed Nokia phone in his hand and a cold fear and determination gripped his heart. She wouldn't have left her phone there like that unless she'd been taken and unable to retrieve it. He updated everyone with the news and headed for the heart of Southside. Where he was going however he told no one.  
He'd do this on his own and send for back up once he was in.  
He slowed as he reached the street, a few away from his destination, leaving his bike by a rubbish dump, hoping no one would find it. Even if it was stolen it wouldn't matter.  
He walked carefully but confidently, as to blend in where anyone to notice him. He put on his helmet that he'd happened to have on his bike but never put on in his panic to find Jellybean. It would disguise him well enough and help out in a fight were it to come to that.  
But before he went to investigate with the Ghoulies he had one more stop to make.  
He'd only even heard of it, and only once or twice, never going himself. But he knew it was real enough and used enough. It took a minute for him to find it, which was of course the point. It was a place designed to be very difficult to stumble on by accident  
He slowed as he reached the street, a few streets away from his destination, leaving his bike by a rubbish dump, hoping no one would find it. Even if it was stolen it wouldn't matter.  
He walked carefully but confidently, as to blend in where anyone to notice him. He put on his helmet that he'd happened to have on his bike but never put on in his panic to find Jellybean. It would disguise him well enough and help out in a fight were it to come to that.  
But before he went to investigate at the Ghoulies he had one more stop to make.  
He'd only even heard of it, and only once or twice, never going himself. But he knew it was real enough and used enough. It took a minute for him to find it, which was of course the point. It was a place designed to be very difficult to stumble on by accident. He went in and found the place looking exactly like a tattoo parlour with needles and designs all around the room, nothing seeming amiss, a perfect facade. The one big room was empty of people apart from the one big man behind the counter.  
"Hello, lad, how can I help you."  
He asked, his voice gruff but kind, off for his line of work. He probably thought Jughead was just some dumb teen who'd happened to come to the wrong place to get a tattoo.  
"I'm Jughead…"  
He began when the man interrupted him,  
"Jones, ey? Yes I've heard of you." He said, not getting of his chair. He'd probably tell Jughead the parlour was closed did he not show any interest in the other thing the man sold.  
"Well, then you know of the difficult relationship us and the Ghoulies have."  
He said, showing his tattoo.  
"You could say that again." The man said, "But I don't like not being able to see your face."  
"I'm not supposed to be here."  
Was the only explanation Jughead gave. The man shrugged, not pushing. And out of general curtesy and diplomacy he tilted his head to show Jughead his own tattoo. Southsiders didn't shake hands. Jughead noticed the tattoo was not one of a Serpent but of a crow, drinking out of a cup. Jughead recognised the symbol as one of the lesser known gangs of the Southside, a small one that kept to themselves and their own business in near towns and in certain parts of Riverdale. But held a reputation of not liking Ghoulies, if it came to a fight they would side with the Serpents. Jughead guessed that made them allies, but not friends.  
"And I'd really like a tattoo." Jughead said but before the man could say anything he added, "Right here, one of a rose with an arrow through it, the colour of mountain dew."  
There was no mistaking it, the wording was perfect. The man's eyes widened a little. He knew things on Southside were rough, everyone did but that…That was extreme. And they both knew he wasn't after a tattoo. But he was only a bit, a boy shouldn't have a gun, nothing good ever came from that.  
At the man's hesitation Jughead repeated the code but didn't get very far before the man crumbled something before reaching under his desk and taking out a book, only this one wasn't filled with tattoo designs like the others but with different gun models. Jughead shook his head before the man could open it. He looked at him in confusion, had the boy changed his mind?  
"I don't need to see any types, I'm in a hurry, give me whatever you have that's small and with just one bullet."  
The man nodded before heading for a back room, coming back with a small box. He opened it and sure enough there was a small handgun inside it. He began explaining what it was, where from but Jughead shushed him, telling him to hurry. Wordlessly the man loaded it and laid it on the counter.  
"That's…."  
He began, about to name his price when Jughead stopped him again.  
"My dad, Fp, he saved your life didn't he?"  
He said, the man nodded immediately before Jughead continued,  
"Is that payment enough?"  
He said and the man thought for a moment before nodding, handing over the gun.  
"Bring it back as soon as your done with it and please be careful."  
Jughead nodded, not looking at the man as he examined the gun in his hand. He'd always found it weird that both Archie and Veronica had both held a gun before, Veronica even shooting with it while he, a Southsider gang member, never had.  
It felt almost wrong in his hand, like a burden he didn't want. And yet, it fit perfectly in his hand and moved naturally and confidently with his hand.  
"Teach me."  
He told the man and he shook his head in exasperation, what was this kid doing? And who was he helping murder?  
But he recognised that termination in the young man's eyes, had seen it plenty in the army, the boy wasn't after blood, he was after saving someone. Someone he loved and the man could appreciate that.  
He showed the young Serpent how to use it, demonstrating the movement and he listened intently, copying his movements exactly when the gun was once again in his hand. Jughead thanked him and left the store again, leaving the older man to wonder whether the boy would be alive to return the weapon.  
Jughead had always been fascinated by his father's stories, especially as a child and especially those of heroism that put his father in a better light and as he grew older he began to see how many of them were true. This was one of them, Jughead had heard it countless time before, how his father had saved the man coming home from war but it had never been told with names. But Jughead had figured it out soon enough.  
He tucked the gun in the inside pocket of his jacket and headed for the Ghoulies bar.  
It was only just passed six but already a few people were drinking in the bar and playing pool. Jughead would have preferred less but that would have to do.  
What was the best way of getting in somewhere? By making a spectacle out of it. He came in, helmet still on and whooped loudly, throwing his hands up. He waltzed in and clapped a few people on the bag, all excitement and celebration, the picture of victory.  
Some of the few people present looked annoyed, having been enjoying their quieter evening but other thought there was nothing odd about it and joined him in his fake victory. Little did they care what it was, whether he'd gotten the girl, made a fortune or sold killograms of drugs, it made no difference to them.  
He ordered a round of drinks for everyone and no one questions he helmet. He bought everyone two more rounds, not drinking a sip himself before confidently heading down the stairs he'd noticed. Would anyone ask he'd say he was looking for the bathroom but they wouldn't.  
He could be wrong but this seemed to him to be the most likely place to keep a hostage.  
He only hoped he'd gotten the right bar, having to play this stunt again and getting out of this one without a problem was going to be complicated. The Ghoulies had two bars in Southside, this one in the centre, another near the border, this seemed the most likely place but it was still a fifty, fifty chance. But there were still other places she could be, Ghoulies were slowly taking over property on the Southside, slapping Ghoulies stamps on tattoo parlours, shops and houses.  
Jughead continued down the steps and knew to expect a guard at any moment. He waited on a step out of sight of everyone and took out his phone, taking less than a minute to call Toni.  
"I'm in the Ghoulies’s bar, the on west street…"  
She interrupted him harshly,  
"Dude, why are you there alone? And if it turns out you're wrong, they'll have your head."  
"Damn them."  
Jughead said, glancing over his shoulder. I need to see for myself and I need backup in case I'm right. Circle the bar, send a few in but only one down stairs."  
"How on earth are we supposed to get it?" Toni protested, "How did you even get in?"  
Jughead was running out of time,  
"Doesn't matter. Just do it, and…watch out for a shot."  
"A what?!"  
"A shot, but only one, the second won't be mine."  
"Wha…."  
"Don't ask questions. Just come at my signal, I'll text you, probably not a full messages, just 'go'. Be there."  
He said and hung up.  
He continued descending the stairs, phone in hand, the text to Toni already written, all he needed was a conformation and then he could hit send.  
As he turned to go down the second set of stairs a door came into view, it was closed and before it stood a guard.  
Jughead approached him and nodded in greeting,  
"Bosses orders, we're taking the girl out of Southside."  
The man didn't move.  
"Who's we?"  
He asked, looking mildly bored. But now Jughead knew he'd been right about Jellybean's destination. She was here, right behind that door probably. He hit send.  
"Me and some other guys, they're upstairs, I can take a little girl by myself."  
"What's with the helmet then?"  
The guy asked and Jughead took a small step forward and shrugged,  
"We'll, since you asked, it's…"  
Jughead's last thought? 'This is going to hurt'. Before he in mid-sentence knocked his head forward as hard as possible, colliding with the other man's head. The man could only grunt before falling to the ground, unconscious.  
Jughead's head spun and he took a second to let the blood stop rushing and for the ache in his forehead to subside. As soon as he did he took a deep breath, imagining Jellybean tied up and screaming for help and threw the door open.  
But all of that was only two hours after Jellybean had arrived.  
Jellybean had no idea who the woman before her was but said, much braver than she actually felt, her hands trembling behind her back.  
"Who are you, Ghoulies? And what do you want with me?"  
"Oh, I want nothing with you Sweetie, you're just another useless school kid only….You're Fp's daughter. And a little birdy told me he was trying to put his family back together and well, they both did me wrong so we can't let them have a happily ever after can we?"  
Jellybean easily put the pieces together. A woman who both Jughead and Fp had 'wronged', the list wasn't very long.  
"You're Penny…..Something."  
Jellybean said and only afterward did she realise, to her delight, how insulting that was the woman's reputation. She smiled to herself under the bag.  
That is, before a red hot pain shot through her cheek and the sound of a smack filled the room. She gasped in surprise and pain.  
"That'll teach you girl."  
Penny said before continuing in a flat, vicious voice. She wasn't in the mood of games anymore.  
"It's simple. I demand all the money Fp was planning on getting together for your family and then, right in front of his face, I shoot you. And the best part? He'll have to tell Jughead. He'll tell Jughead that being a Serpent has not only broken up your family but gotten you dead and well…Something tells me Jughead will never forgive his father again and in the end, they will lose everything. Isn't that a lovely story?"  
Jellybean couldn't help it, she sobbed. It was ripped out of her as the monstrosity of the woman before he came down on her and she realised she had hours left to live.  
"Now that's better,"  
Penny commented before Jellybean heard the sound of a phone dialing. She was demanding her ransom Jellybean realised and she stopped crying.  
"Hello, Fp. Remember me? Well, you're daughter here doesn't seem to. But now I don't think she'll ever forget me. Well, at least not until she dies, with a bullet through her head….Don't believe me? Well. Dear, say something?"  
She said and Jellybean clamped her mouth down harder, the tears silently rolling down her face.  
"Well, I could send a picture but where's the fun is that."  
Penny said and slapped Jellybean again, harder and faster than the last time. Jellybean bit down on her lip to stop herself from screaming, drawing blood but she didn't care, she wouldn't scream.  
"C'mon now girl, you're just making it hard on yourself."  
Penny said and she could have ripped the bag of her head to take a picture, which she did any way but Penny didn't like being disobeyed.  
She punched Jellybean right in the nose but not hard enough to break it, she'd done it often enough to know when that happened. Besides Penny did not want to have to deal with that blood or the girl's constant whining.  
Jellybean couldn't help it, she screamed, right into the phone Penny held before her mouth.  
"Please help me, I'm in a bar at Southside…"  
Jellybean said between sobs and Penny took back the phone, satisfied.  
"She's right, but don't come without the money, 20, 000. I don't care how you get it, but get it soon. You have only 5 hours so you better get to it."  
She said and then nothing. Just silence. Jellybean was scared, absolutely terrified. Was the scary lady gone or just watching her, analysing like she was a rat in an experiment, seeing what she would do.  
Jellybean did nothing but stay utterly still, just sobbing, her feet and nose throbbing, just waiting for the next hit.  
But it never came.  
After half an hour of this Jellybean began to calm down, her sobs had subsided and he heart beat finally slowed. She didn't think the woman was in the room anymore, at least she didn't feel her eyes on her. Jellybean was so drained, so tired and so numb, the pain had drifted into the background and she began to feel her eyelids droop. She was falling asleep. Stupid? Maybe but she couldn't help it, she welcomed it with open arms, it wouldn't hurt anymore if she closed her eyes, the world would fall away. She began to think that maybe she'd been drugged somehow when a loud bang filled the room, she thought it might have been the door. She startled, wide awake.  
"Well, well, who is this?"  
Penny asked, so she had been there the whole time. And someone new had come in. The door banged close again behind them.  
"Answer me!"  
Penny demanded, no more honey in her voice.  
Jellybean cursed herself for not being able to see what was happening but the new comer had clearly done something for Penny seemed satisfied with her demand.  
"Well," Penny said, her sing song honey voice returning. "Look who came to join us Jellybean…"  
Penny and Jellybean both knew him but who was it? She began to panic, was it someone come to hurt her or was it…  
"Jughead deer, I'd ask after the money but I know you don't have it."  
Jellybean's heart sank, Jughead was here. He'd come to save her but now he was going to get himself kidnapped or killed because of her. Suddenly she heard a click and the room seemed to go even more quiet.  
"Let her go."  
Jughead demanded and Penny sighed, almost like she was about to lecture her disobedient child.  
"I admit, I didn't believe you had it in you."  
"Let. Her. Go."  
He repeated, every word spat out like a curse, a promise to kill.  
"Oh please, I think that's enough excitement for one day."  
Jellybean began to understand what was going on.  
"Now put the gun down Jughead," Penny said with no panic in her voice, just boredom. "All three of us know you can't do it."  
Jellybean's heart stopped, a gun. She'd thought, somewhere in the back of her mind that it might have been possible but now she knew it was true. Just before her, her brother was holding a gun to a woman's head, ready to fire and kill.  
She could just imagine it, even thinking about it made her sick.  
As Penny was distracted she tried fiddling with the rope around her wrists, picking it with her nails, rubbing it against her wrist but nothing happened.  
She'd cut her own hand off before letting her brother kill someone for her.  
"I can, and if you wait long enough, or make any move, I will. I will shoot you, right between the eyes. Now, let my sister go. Now!"  
Jughead's voice was so calm and steady, even Jughead believed him. She wondered if the gun in his hand was as steady as his words.  
"Now!"  
He screamed and 'bang!'  
Jellybean screamed in shock and at the noise, a noise no fourteen year old should ever have to hear.  
No, no, no!  
He hadn't killed her, it wasn't possible. He couldn't have. It had to be a trick.


	25. Never the same

Silence followed and Jellybean's scream subsided. She waited for a sign, a sign of life from either of them, a sign her brother hadn't just murdered someone. But for a long time, none came. Finally, someone spoke.  
"Now," Jughead said, "I warned you and know you see, this is loaded."  
He wasn't speaking to Jellybean so he must be speaking to Penny. She sobbed in relief, he hadn't killed the vileness woman but what had he shot then? Penny gave her the answer.  
"All right boy, granted you've got guts but shooting at the ceiling and a person are two very different things."  
She must have moved because he barked,  
"Move again and I'll shoot you. Now, let her go."  
"I don't think so. Two children for ransom are better than one."  
She said and the door burst open. Jellybean didn't know whether the newcomer had been summoned by Penny somehow or they'd come at the sound of the shot but either way Jellybean began to panic. What would happen if they both got captured? What had been Jughead's plan? To come in here with a gun and expect Penny to just hand her over and let the two walk out again? She didn't know. No gun would save them.  
"You're not taking either of us."  
Jughead said and Jellybean yelped as the bag was suddenly removed from her head and she squinted into the bright light. After a moment of adjusting her eyes to the light she saw the scene before her and her eyes widened.  
Just to her right stood a tall, blonde woman dressed in black with dark makeup, Penny and opposite her stood Jughead, a few feet from the door, his arms stretched out before him, the gun in both his hands and scarily steady, like he'd trained for this very moment all his life and had not an ounce of the raw fear Jellybean felt and had felt since the moment she'd been grabbed from behind.  
Behind Jughead the door stood wide open, whoever the newcomer was not having bothered to close it. Three new men had entered. One had been one of Penny's men but he stood behind Jughead, frozen but glaring daggers at Jughead's unprotected back. Behind him stood a taller man, clearly a Serpent with a gun to Penny's minion's head, his eyes flickering between every person in the room, his legs slightly bent, ready for any movement he'd have to make. Jellybean looked to her left where the man who'd taken the bag of her head now stood, a gun of his own raised, pointing to Penny.  
If one person made a move the room would become a blood bath and God knows who would come out alive.  
The scene played out in her head. Penny suddenly surging forward at Jughead, hoping to get there fast enough to grab the gun from Jughead's hand. He'd squeeze the trigger, the bullet flying just as the man behind him attacked, swinging his weight into Jughead's back, the Serpent behind him pulling the trigger but not before the man got the chance to shoot two blind bullets in Jellybean's direction, only one missing. All three would fall down, Jughead crushed beneath the weight of the dead man from behind him, Penny dead on the floor before him, two bullets in her, the other from the man to Jellybean's left. Jellybean now slumped forward and hung unmoving from her chair, a bullet through her head.  
The image of herself dead on this very chair would haunt Jellybean for months to come.  
Jughead didn't even glance at her, he kept his eyes solely on Penny, a smart move too.  
"Jellybean, are you hurt?"  
He asked urgently and Jellybean couldn't help it, she sobbed again, not noticing how Jughead flinched at the sound, the only waver he'd shown since coming through that door. Penny smiled at it, what pain she'd caused him by making his sister cry.  
"Yes."  
Jellybean croaked and Jughead's hand on the trigger tightened, the smile on Penny's face disappearing as a wave of hot anger came over his whole face. Not a line of fear was apparent on his young face, nothing but cold, dangerous determination. Jellybean wanted to cry out not to shoot but it was too risky. Penny could take advantage of the moment and sway the power to her, the bloodbath she'd imagined coming true.  
"Every man upstairs and in this whole building has a gun to their head, surrender her over now."  
"Take her, I already have what I want. The money was just a bonus."  
She said as if it was nothing more but a small inconvenience,  
And Jellybean could only fear what that was.  
"And remember girl,"  
Penny said, facing Jellybean,  
"This is all because of your father."  
"Don't fucking talk to her! Mike!"  
Jughead called and another Serpent came in and approached Penny. He tied her hands behind her back and took her away, Jughead's gun following her every step. All the while Penny didn't protest and looked nothing but bored, completely undefeated to Jellybean's dissatisfaction.  
But if what she'd said was true then maybe she really was undefeated. Then the only person who'd won was Penny, despite a gun to her head and her hands tied behind her back, she would have won. Jellybean couldn't think of anything more unfair.  
The moment she left the room, the man that tied her walking out after her and closing the door behind them Jughead's shoulders slumped and his arm went slack. He dropped the gun and ran over to her. Tears had started forming in his eyes and as he knelt down in front of her they threatened to fall. He took her face in his hands and rubbed his thumb over her red cheek, sucking in a sharp breath. She groaned at the feeling, at the tenderness she'd forgotten existed in her time here. He looked so sad, so defeated and broken and yet such relief and joy at seeing her alive in his eyes.  
He scanned over her face, looking at every cut and bruise, worry depending on his face. She looked awful with her bloody nose and bright red cheek and swollen eye but the hollowness in her eyes, that was the worst part of it. Just seeing his face again she started to cry he let go of her face and pulled her close to him, her head resting against his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt as his did her hair.  
She'd been hopeless and afraid Jughead knew, believing no one would come for her as Penny had tortured her. He'd come too late, he should have found her earlier. She breathed in his familiar scent, like old books and fresh air as he did hers. They stayed like that for a while, she on her chair, a chair she was sure she'd die in and him kneeling on the floor before her. He whispered soothing words to her, told her it would be alright.  
It would be alright because he would always be there, he'd care for her wounds, be there for her every need, he told her so.  
Finally, their tears dried and they pulled away. He looked over her once more before pulling her to her feet, she cried out as her foot hit the floor. He apologised frantically and put his arm under hers, letting all her weight rest on him, allowing her to hop. But she didn't make it to the door before he couldn't bear it anymore and warned her before sweeping her off her feet and carrying her in his arms.  
"I'm so sorry this happened to you."  
He said and she could only nod, accepting his apology.  
"I should have taken better care of me. You're my little sister, of course, I should have."  
He said as he stomped his foot against the door, the man on the other side opened it and got out of the way to let them pass.  
"Let's get your foot fixed up and take you to the hospital. And after that, I'm going to make it up to you. I swear, I'll do anything."  
Finally, she spoke.  
"You saved me didn't you."  
He looked down at her and smiled. What had he done to deserve such a strong, forgiving and wonderful sister? She would make it out alive, she would heal and Jughead would be there, for every moment from now one.  
"The Ghoulies, penny, they'll all pay for this."  
He promised, an oath to God,  
"But not with their lives."  
He added, knowing it was what she wanted to hear. Even from the corner of his eyes, he'd seen the utter terror on her face at the sign of him with a gun in his hand, he'd hated having to cause her any more pain. He'd never forget the sound of her scream when he'd pulled the trigger, at the ceiling yes, but how was she to know?  
He could only pray he'd never have to feel the complete and utter defeat, a terror that knocked the air from his lungs at the terrible sight of his sister with a bag over her head and tied to that chair. He'd hardly been able to keep his emotions in check as he'd burst through the door. He thanked God he'd had that helmet to hide under because without it Penny would have seen the look on his face. Taking it off and finding her not at all surprised or worried for her life had been just another punch to the face. So much for being a Serpent leader's son.  
He carried her up the steps carefully, trying to jolt her around as little as possible the other Serpents right behind him, each keeping their distance. They climbed the last step to find, like Jellybean had expected that every man, only really 7 had a gun to their head held by a Serpent.  
"What will you do with them?"  
Jellybean asked, her voice cracked and low.  
"Please don't worry about any of it, JB. Everything is taken care of, you're safe now."  
She nodded and they made their way passed everyone and headed for the door. Once they were outside the cold of the early night hit her and she greeted it with open arms, to breath, to see the black sky over her head, that was everything. It gave her the confidence to speak.  
"Jughead?" "Yeah?" "Penny, she was right. I thought about what she said and it's true. She won."  
Jughead looked at her in confusion but didn't interrupt.  
"She wanted…She wanted to keep me for ransom but then when Fp came with the money she'd shoot me, right in front of Fp and he'd have to tell you."  
Jughead took in a sharp breath, Penny had said it right to her face.  
"It was all so you would never forgive him again but now it's me who can't forgive him. She's right, she got what she wanted, I hate him, he was the reason I almost died, I would have died and he's the reason you had to save me. That a 16-year-old had to hold a gun."  
She'd not looked at him but now she did with teary eyes, she looked him in the eyes, eyes too young for all they'd seen.  
"And I don't know if I can live like this. Stuck in the crossfire of a fight I have nothing to do with. You said there was a line, that there were things you couldn't forgive your father for, this is mine, this is where I draw the line. And I am so, so, sorry if that means you have to suffer for it."  
"I understand." He said, "But no one expects you to forgive him, not even him. You can forgive him when you're ready, whether that's in a week or in two years. I'll still be there."  
He said and she nodded, saying nothing more but pressing herself a little closer to him.  
He walked the rest of the distance to his bike which a Serpent had found and brought here for him. He'd make sure to thank all of them properly but not tonight. Tonight he would care for his sister.  
He gently set her down on the bike, giving her his helmet. She tried to get comfortable but winced with every move of her foot. He couldn't bear the sound.  
He started driving, carefully but still quickly. The quicker he got there the less time Jellybean would be in pain.  
Most of the Serpents went their own way, the mission was complete, they didn't need to stick around for the next bit. For now, Penny would be held by the Serpents, the other Ghoulies were tied up and left in the bar. Soon enough someone would find them and maybe they'd attack the Serpents, maybe they'd just let it go, whatever they did the Serpents would be ready. A Serpent must have picked up his gun and known where to return it, it wasn't his problem anymore.  
Someone else could figure everything out from now on. His father, for example.  
Where the fuck was he? He knew this had happened so where was he?  
Jughead wouldn't risk getting his phone out with Jellybean behind him in her current condition, instead, he called out to Toni. Four Serpents had followed him out to Northside, all witnesses apart from Toni.  
"Toni, call my dad!" He shouted to her, "Tell him everything!"  
"Alright," She said and dialled his number in her phone. After a few seconds she gave Jughead a thumbs up, she had him on the line. She told him everything she knew, Jughead shouting out all the missing pieces and everything Jellybean whispered into his ear. Jughead couldn't explain the complete and utter irrational anger that came over him as he told Toni all that had happened, as Jellybean was forced to relive those memories. Not anger at Penny, at least not all of it, he didn't know her well enough, this was a personal hatred, at his father. Jellybean had been right. This was all because of him. Penny had said as much, this was to get back at Fp for what he had done.  
And Jughead would punish him for it, and Fp not being here only made it worse. His phone had already gone off many time in his pocket but he never took it. First of all for Jellybean's safety but more importantly that, if it was his father, he wouldn't have to talk to him.  
"Tell him to clean everything up, deal with Penny, the Ghoulies, everything and only then can he see her!"  
He told Toni and he could tell his father didn't like it by Toni's sour expression after she'd repeated the words. He'd know he should disgust it with Jellybean, maybe the first person she'd wanted to see was her father but she made no complaint.  
He drove into Northside hospital parking, the three other Serpent's parking beside him. He carried Jellybean inside like he'd carried her from the bar and headed straight for the reception.  
"Hey!," He said urgently to the woman seated behind the desk. She looked up at him and noted Jellybean's state with a grimace, "This is my sister, she broke her foot and bruised her face."  
He said and the women hesitated at the lack of detail.  
"Well?" He asked, getting angry and impatient. "Are you going to help her or not?"  
He said, still holding in his arms. She noticed his tone and nodded before calling for a nurse, she could tell by his jacket he was not one to be kept waiting. Jughead told the nurse the same things, adding that they should check for any other major injuries that weren't as visible. The nurse too raised her eyebrow at the vagueness of his answer but helped nonetheless, asking no further questions. Let them think what they want Jughead thought, as long as he didn't say too much they could spin the story any way they wanted in their advantage, someway where the blame wouldn't fall to their father...  
Jughead insisted on carrying Jellybean as the nurse showed to way to Jellybean's temporary room. The nurse opened the door for her and he headed into the very plane room. He'd never understood why hospital rooms were always so dull and gloomy, a hospital was a place of healing and saving lives, not a place to die, so why did they make it look like it? He made his way to the bed set in the middle and set Jellybean down on it carefully, lowering her slowly. Still, she winched and groaned as she tried making herself as comfortable as possible, the nurse helping with cushions. The nurse immediately got to work after that, hanging up a bag of see-through fluid and leaving to get Jellybean her hospital gown. But before she left she addressed Jughead,  
"Sir, we're grateful you delivered her to us but you must return to the main desk to answer some questions and fill in any additional information required. Afterwards, we will go through the necessary treatment."  
A monotone rehearsed line. Jughead nodded, Jellybean wasn't even registered to this hospital. She hadn't even been born in it.  
"Yes, of course,"  
But before he could turn away from the nurse in the doorway she added,  
"And please, get an adult involved."  
She said it sadly and didn't wait for any response before heading out.  
He hadn't planned on saying anything anyway and turned back to Jellybean, lifted the cover of her bed a little higher over her before leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. She smiled and he moved to righten himself again when she stopped him with a hand on his arm.  
She whispered as if afraid the nurse would hear.  
"Jughead, this is the perfect moment. We were going to make her come to the hospital anyway, now we don't need to fake an emergency anymore, she can come to visit me and then..."  
He stopped her soothingly,  
"Wo, wo, wo. Slow down. None of that just yet. Maybe later, but first they're going to fix up your leg and your face. And, I'm sorry to say this but Jb, this doesn't make it any easier for dad to get shared custody over you. We need to think and act carefully to take the blame off dad, or we will lose."  
She nodded and let go of his arm.  
He marvelled at her, she'd been free for less than an hour and even after everything she was still looking for solutions and ways to get the shared custody she'd fought for. But did she really want to go through with it? Or was this just the aftershock taken its toll? When she was rested and healed and her mind back in order would she still want that? From what she'd said early it didn't look like it.  
He watched her for a moment longer and noticed her eyelids starting to droop, would she ever get the proper, normal life she deserved. He headed out and walked slowly down the hall, his thoughts running wild as he returned to reception. Toni was waiting for him there, a kind smile on her face and ready to help him with anything she needed. The other two Serpents sat on the chairs reading magazines, awaiting orders.  
But none of them could help, not really. But he'd need the support, especially when his father came tearing in through that door. He wondered whose side they would take.  
His mind ran wild and he thought back to his sister and the dullness in her eyes, the lack of hope, something forever changed in her. She'd never be the same.  
Did he even want her to stay anymore? Of course, he wanted her to but he would never let her if it ever meant getting her into danger like that again.  
Was this it, was this how he would lose his sister?


	26. The almost war

Betty had had every intention of calling Toni before a terribly stupid idea had come to mind. But when it actually came down to it she couldn't do it. She thought of calling Toni to help out with her situation with Sweet Pea. Toni knew Sweet Pea best so maybe she knew his mind, or at least more than everyone else.  
But she didn't call. She just kept making excuses because, frankly, how could Toni help her? And why would she?  
Sweet Pea and Toni might know each other but Betty and Toni definitely didn't. Betty didn't hate Toni. She never held a grudge against her for being with Jughead, as short as it had been. But at the same time, she'd never gone out of her way to becoming friends with her, she reminded Betty too much of the things she wanted to forget.  
And besides, what would she say? She couldn't just very well call and say,  
"Hey, I know we never talk and aren't friends and all but Sweet Pea confessed his love to me and I turned him down, should we be just friends?"  
And, if she was honest with herself, calling Toni was just another way of avoiding the actual problem, Sweet Pea.  
This was the moment she had a really, really stupid idea.  
She put her phone down, no longer attempting to call Toni and made her decision. She packed a small bag, stuffing all her notebooks in for the blue and gold but wasn't dumb enough to take her laptop, as stupid as her plan was.  
She headed downstairs and called for her mother, just about to make an excuse for her absence when her mother spoke first.  
"Honey, there was a letter for you in the post."  
She said, not looking up from where she was reading a book on the sofa. Betty frowned, who would send her a letter and why? She headed for the stack of post set on the kitchen counter to find out. Half the envelope had already been opened and she looked through the pile until coming to a letter addressed to her at the very bottom, stamped and everything. Her name and address written in a neat cursive. Her frown deepened, this was making less and less sense. She opened the envelope, not knowing what to expect. There were two pieces of paper in the white envelope, one a folded piece of paper, the letter itself she presumed and the other a long thin piece of paper like a line from a page. She took it out and turned it over. She read the short line written there over and over, trying to make sense of it. It wasn't even a full sentence, why was it in this envelope addressed to her?  
She went to put it down and read the letter instead, see if that would make her any wiser when it occurred to her, she'd read that line before. She read it again frantically, hoping she was wrong. But she wasn't. It was exactly what she feared, a line from Sweet Pea's paper to her. Did whoever had sent her this letter have the papers? She urgently took out the folded piece of paper, unfolded it quickly and began reading, clutching the sides tightly as her eyes skimmed the page.  
Who held the complete history of Southside in their hand?

Jughead tried calling Betty again but she didn't pick up again, she hadn't answered a single one of his calls. What could she possibly be doing?  
This was when he needed her the most, when he wasn't allowed to see his sister yet, when his dad was nowhere to be found, when Toni had left because he knew she'd never comfort him, not like this, it wasn't in her nature, when all the paperwork was filled in apart from one burning question, what had happened to her? What could he fill in?  
He needed someone to help him, someone to tell him what to do, he was tired of calling the shots. He began panicking, pacing up and down the waiting room. He'd sent the other Serpent's home already but told them to find his father. He was all alone and if he didn't calm down now he would have another panic attack, the farthest thing to helping Jellybean. He forced himself to calm down, to breath but his feet still continued there steady pace around the room.  
He knew he didn't just want Betty here to soothe him, to advise him, to be there for him but to protect him from his dad. For as much as he and JB knew this was Fp's fault, this was also partly his. He'd let her walk home by herself, he'd had his own run-ins with Penny, he was far from innocent. And he knew his father would see it that way too. He knew his father's wrath.  
How long had the Ghoulies been following her to know exactly when she would be alone? How long had they been waiting for Jughead or Fp to mess up? To send her running home or let her do things by herself. Maybe they'd just gotten lucky or maybe this had been going on longer than he ever realised.  
What felt like hours later a nurse approached him. He'd sat down again a while ago, having tired himself out and started drifting off to sleep. When the nurse cleared her throat he shot up, wide awake and she spoke.  
"Sir, you can see your sister now but I'm afraid she's still asleep, I'd ask you not to wake her."  
Jughead nodded and stood, shaking the sleep of him. The nurse had a couple of paper's under her arm that he couldn't read. She glanced at them before asking, her voice careful,  
"Could you tell me why you haven't shared with us why or how she got her injuries?"  
He'd preferred it if she'd just cut the crap and asked him outright but instead, she only said,  
"Because I don't know, I found her like this and brought her straight here, no questions asked. I'll ask her,"  
The nurse nodded, looking at him in pity and he didn't know whether he believed her. She led him back to Jellybean's room and opened the door for him, closing it behind her again as she left, giving him some time alone with his sister.  
Jughead moved to the bed immediately and watched Jellybean's sleeping face. It broke his heart to see her so peaceful asleep and know that when she woke things would be harder and more complicated than ever. The bottom half of her leg and foot were already wrapped and seemed to be set at a most uncomfortable position. He wondered whether it had hurt and how she'd broken her foot in the first place, had she had to bare watching them snap it to keep her from running, as a reminder that this had happened to her with every step she took. Parts of her face were patched up and plastered and most of the swelling on her cheek had gone down. There seemed to be no more bandages on her of any sort so these must have been the worst of her injuries. He signed in relief and watched her a second longer before taking a seat in the chair beside her bed.  
He sat there for a long while, thinking of the future and what the courtroom had in store for them, occasionally glancing at Jellybean, as if he were afraid she'd disappear again, slip through his very fingertips once more.  
Would he ever be able to let her do anything by herself ever again? Would he be able to live without her in his sight?  
He didn't think so, not for now anyway, but it would get better. For the two of them, it would get better, so much better that they might be like real siblings again, under one roof. Soon the nurse came in again, he hadn't expected her and fear gripped him, was something wrong with Jellybean? Had they found something new? Something untreatable? The nurse looked worried but not at Jellybean from what he could see. He willed her silently to speak.  
"Sir, your father is here, he'd like to…"  
Jughead didn't have time to think of what that meant, to feel anything before the door was opened wider halfway through her sentence and Fp pushed through. The nurse called to stop him but closed her mouth before she did. The worry fell from her face and she just watched, curious. She wanted to see what Fp's reaction to Jellybean's injuries was, Jughead realised. For all she knew, Fp had done this to her. It sickened him to think that and he dismissed the nurse,  
"Please go,"  
He said and she nodded, shame coming over her just before she turned and walked out again. She knew better than getting in the middle of the two Serpents, the embroidery on their backs told her enough to know this was no ordinary case, no ordinary family, no use treating them like one.  
"Jellybean…."  
Fp said, reaching the bed and staring down at his broken daughter. What was that in his voice? Relief, regret, pain? Jughead didn't know.  
Jughead stood but didn't move towards his father and didn't say anything. Fp examined his daughter just as Jellybean had, noticing every injury, every emotion crossing over his ageing face. How old he looked in that moment. He raised his head and Jughead braised himself for any emotion between sadness and hatred that would strike him as he faced his son. But when he lifted his head and looked his son dead in the eye his eyes were hollow, face blank.  
"How did this happen?"  
He asked, not accusingly or angry, just worried and full of disbelief. Fp might not see it but Jughead did, he saw that his father thought himself invincible sometimes, and capable of saving all those he loved. It turned out he'd been wrong. With that unfamiliar hollow look on Fp's face that Jughead had seen not so very long ago on Jellybean's, it dawned on him how much his daughter looked like her father.  
But either way, Fp had no right to come in here and demand answers and even though Jughead was exhausted in every sense of the word he would not let Fp make him feel more guilty than he himself was.  
"Did you do all I ask?"  
Jughead said coldly and Fp glared at him,  
"Answer me, boy! I am your father and hers too, I'll…."  
Fp began threateningly but Jughead knew his words were as empty as his threats, as the look in his eyes. He would do nothing, he knew this was torture enough.  
"Answer my question," Jughead demanded but his voice was flat, "Did you take care of Penny, the Ghoulies, the Serpents, everything? Without unnecessary people involved?"  
"Yes, I thought you the importance of that myself, no need to lecture me,"  
He said angrily but Jughead did nothing but look at him expectantly, his father spoke,  
"Yes, and I avoided an almost war, for Jellybean's sake. Because I know she wouldn't want that, no more blood will spill. And I won't rip out Penny's fucking throat either, as much as I want to. But we both know that's no coincidence, Penny knew it too. She knew I wouldn't lay a finger on her. It's why she even dared to do this whole thing in the first place..."  
"Because," Jughead caught on, "succeed in the ransom or not we would never kill her, because of Jellybean. And in a way, she wanted Jellybean to be saved, it's why she made it so easy because had she actually had to shoot Jellybean there would be nothing to hold us back."  
"Leaving no possible way for us to win. Apart from getting Jellybean alive."  
"What happened to her?"  
Jughead asked, murder wasn't the only possible punishment, he could have made her life a living hell. Jughead hoped he had.  
But Fp didn't speak until he moved from beside the bed and took the other seat in the room, far enough away from the both of them. But still watching Jellybean.  
"Penny had planned on paying the Ghoulies for their part in it, all of it basically, but she hadn't actually made the transaction yet. So we had a Serpent, a very skilled one stop it from ever happening and instead send money out to a handful of Serpents, subtle amounts but still, it was enough. The Ghoulies thought exactly what we wanted them to, that she had paid the Serpents for a job well done but not them."  
"But what job?"  
"A fake one. We made it seem as if she'd instructed the Ghoulies to kidnap Jellybean and then also the Serpents to save her again..."  
"So she could claim that they had failed and therefore not have to pay them, while still getting what she wanted. Smart, very smart."  
Jughead realized as he spoke and Fp nodded, facing him again,  
"Exactly. But that's not the end just yet. The last thing that needed to happen was for her to disappear, for it to appear that she'd fled, gotten what she wanted and left. We tied her up and brought her to a motel, not too far out of town. It's up to her, she can return to town and face the Ghoulies and the Serpents or run as far as she can."  
Jughead was amazed at how fast Fp had pulled this plan together and so well, no war between gangs and everyone would see Penny for what she really is, a traitor.  
"Thank you dad."  
He said after a long pause had grown between them, each lost in thought. Fp said nothing, he only nodded, ever so slightly.  
"To answer your question, it's was a careless mistake..." He paused, expecting his father to interrupt or say anything but he didn't. He simply stared at Jellybean's figure on the bed, so Jughead continued.  
"She realized the same thing I had, that I'd been neglecting Betty lately, always putting Jellybean first. I knew I had to make up for it, I wanted to spend some time with her. So Jellybean offered to walk herself home, I was so relieved she understood that I Justin let her go. She never made it home. I looked for her everywhere, through every street of Riverdale and I tried calling you. Eventually, I found her phone, just lying on the street and I headed for Southside, determined to get her out and well...You know the rest."  
Once again that silence spread between them, Fp broke it hesitantly.  
"Jughead, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Letting your sister walk home, you couldn't have known, you saved her."  
His father's praise meant a lot to him, but not so much that Fp had to be brought down to the reality of the situation.  
"Dad, you know why she did it, don't you? She did it to punish you, this is your fault. And mine to I know..."  
Jughead said, calmly but with fire in his words. Fp closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his breath came out uneven.  
"But that isn't the problem right now..."  
Jughead couldn't believe how calm he was being, how he wasn't on his feet and yelling. He supposed it was something his sister thought him, to keep his anger until when it was necessary and there was nothing left to fix. Right now, things were so fragile he couldn't make it worse without everything shattering.  
"Right now, you need to use the same things you used to take care of Penny and the Ghoulies. You need to fix this, spin the right story out of this but most of all you have to earn her forgiveness or for now at least tolerance, any way you can. We can still win, Penny only wins if it ends here."  
Jughead stood now and headed over to his father, standing before him.  
"You make this right and give Jellybean the home she wanted and deserves."  
Jughead couldn't ever have imagined talking down on his father like this but here they were. Jellybean unconscious, Jughead standing and making demands, telling his father what to do as he listened, defeated and prepared to do anything. The Jones's had come a long way.  
"You better fight for her with all you've got. You've done it for years I know, don't stop now, do more than ever."  
Fp nodded and stood, approaching Jughead and wrapping his arms around him. Jughead was startled for a moment but hugged his father back.  
"I know son, I know, and I will also do all I can to gain your forgiveness too."  
Jughead nodded into his father's shoulders, not trusting himself to speak.  
Suddenly a soft voice came from behind them, washing through both of them and they pulled away, both eager for what the whispered name meant.  
"Jughead,"

Betty read the letter again and again but nothing changed, it was clear enough.  
"What does it say, Betty?"  
Her mom asked from the sofa, still not looking up and Betty tried hard to sound as casual as possible as she spoke,  
"Oh, nothing really, just something from the blue and gold, an article they want me to publish."  
"Alright,"  
Betty grabbed the envelope and headed upstairs, she felt like ripping it to pieces but knew she shouldn't, it wouldn't make it any less true. She stuffed it in her desk draw and decided on what to do. The words of the letter echoing in her head.  
Dear Betty,  
You don't know me but I do you. And I know Sweet Pea wrote that to you and since you never published it and hid it instead I'm guessing he made you swear not to. Well, unless you do as I say I will keep them to myself, you know I have them and in time I might even give them back. Don't, and all the Northsiders will know of Southsiders history. This is the first letter but more will come, show me you're willing. If not the first paragraph does out tomorrow.  
Lots of luck  
She had to agree, she knew that, but how would she even show her willingness and by when? It wasn't even clear whether this person wanted the secret out or not. Where they a Northsider or a Southsider? Which made it even harder to find out who it was, which Betty had every intention of finding out.  
But for now, all she knew was that he or she had the papers and wanted something from her. But who had that kind of access for a paper, could they release it in the blue and gold or her mom's paper or something else online? Or maybe just dangle in front of a willing participant.  
Either way, she had to get a second opinion on this, she changed her mind and grabbed the envelope again, putting it in with the rest of her stuff in the bag she'd packed. She was going along with her plan (the stupid one) and was determined to succeed. She made an excuse to her mother before heading out the door, heading straight for the quickest way into Southside.  
She couldn't deny that this was risky, she'd even forgotten her phone above everything else but she wasn't turning back now.  
She didn't actually know where Sweet Pea lived but she had a good chance at finding him at the White Worm, maybe Jughead was there too, she hadn't heard from him since he'd dropped her off and promised to spend more time with her.  
She still had a few hours left before sun set but still, she hurried her step as she made her way through the unfamiliar streets. Luckily she'd been to the White Worm before and new roughly where it was. Her breath hiccupped in relief every time she saw a familiar shop or sign, she had to be going the right way. She strode confidently though she was sure she was going to get jumped, luckily she didn't and eventually the familiar bar came into view. She sighed in relief, an odd thing to be doing at the sight of the dreary place and headed on inside. She looked around and almost immediately her eyes fell on the least likely person she'd ever expect to see here, about a 360 degree different person to the people surrounding him, he stood out like a sore thumb, but acted like he was part of them and always had been, Betty admitted to herself it wasn't a sight she liked seeing.  
Jellybean woke with a groan, it felt like there was nothing that wasn't hurting right now. Was Jughead still there? She called out his name,  
"Jughead…"  
It came out a lot more feeble then she'd intended and she cleared her throat, sitting up in the bed, trying to recall what had woken her, where it voices that she'd heard? The nurses perhaps, or maybe something had happened. She didn't open her eyes until her head stopped pounding and squinted into the bright light overhead.  
Stupid hospital room, she thought before realising what she was looking at. Before her stood Jughead, looking at her in concern but with a hopeful look in his eyes, a few feet away from her bed and next to him… Fp, her father, and almost twin face to Jughead's, only his was laden with sadness and guilt as well, possible pity.  
Good, she couldn't help think, good.


	27. No more monster

"Dad," was all she managed to say, not a question, just a statement, acknowledging his presence, no more. Let him try and explain himself and what everything that happened was supposed to mean to them now. He stood rooted to the spot as Jellybean moved to sit up, Jughead was immediately at her side, helping her up carefully, even if she didn't need it. But she wasn't about to have this conversation lying down. She leaned back against the pillow behind her back and waited for Fp to speak.  
Fp didn't seem to know where to begin either.  
"Jellybean, I am so sorry this happened to you," He said, every line of his body drowning in sadness, "You didn't deserve that, and to have to take the blunt for my mistakes, I know that's wrong. If it hadn't been for Jughead...I don't know what I would have done. I don't expect you to forgive me, I can't forgive myself. You're my daughter, I just want you to be happy and well again and always. Tell me what I can do to make it better. Having lost you today would have killed me, but if you being happy means going back home to your mom or anything else I will help you with it."  
He stopped, his breath shuddering in and out of him. Jellybean felt...She didn't even know what she felt, let alone how she should feel, about any of this. What could she possibly say?  
"I could have died," She said, without thinking, just looking at Fp, watching his come close to flinching at the mention of it, the words kept coming, "Because of something you did, because of your past, and just as easily so could have Jughead. Just being your flesh and blood put me in danger, and that's all it took."  
She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help the burning press of her tears. She'd always hated that, hot and dry anger came only when one was truly done with a person, when there was nothing left but the end of something already lost. The tears only came with the anger when you cared too much, when you couldn't let go as much as you might want to. She'd learnt that just over the last week.  
"Even if Penny is gone it will keep happening, someway. How am I supposed to live like that? How do I stay sane? How will any of this ever be fixed."  
She sobbed as 'sane' broke out of her and filled the small room. Jughead grabbed her hand, a reflex, and held on tight like he always would. She couldn't see Jughead, he was only just in the corner of her vision but her father she could see clearly, he looked like he was about to fall to his knees, but as harsh as it was, all three of them knew it was nothing but the truth. But instead of falling or begging or giving up he did the last thing she'd ever expect from him. The thing she'd begged him to do since she was a child, the thing she'd wished for when she lived in Riverdale for years. Something that had become a fairy tale, a stupid childish believe and she grew to never believe. But yet here he was, before her. Shedding his skin.  
He ripped off his jacket and held it in his hand for a single moment as if to hold on for just a little longer or perhaps to let everything go with it. The moment passed and he let go. The jacket fell to the white floor in a black and green heap, like a coiled Serpent that would never move again, never strike again and would only await its death.  
She watched the jacket for a moment longer, as if waiting for it to move, perhaps even waiting for Fp to pick it up again but somehow she knew he never would. She turned her eyes back to his. No regret was on his face, only that unending sadness and a new type of determination and certainty, he'd just traded one family for another, whether he knew it or not. He breathed heavily but she could do nothing but stare at him in surprise and utter amazement, and even some small part of her felt bad, for having forced him to choose, her or the Serpents, without even knowing she'd done it. And, beyond everything she'd ever believed, beyond the years of distance between them, beyond being the complete opposite with nothing but blood and perhaps loyalty in common he'd somehow chosen her.  
"Forthysia, I would do anything for you, I love you so much. You too Jughead," He said, turning away from Jellybean and to his son beside her, it was Jellybean's turn to grip her brother's hand tighter. "Even if it didn't always seem that way, I promise you I really did. Since the moment the two of you were born. I lost you but it seems no distance and time could have ripped you to away from each other."  
Jellybean did nothing but look to her left to Jughead, tears in his eyes. Jellybean smiled at him and gripped his hand a little tighter, he did the same before he too started taking off his jacket but she stopped him before he could,  
"Stop. Jughead, don't." She said softly, "Keep what's yours, you saved my life, make your own choice."  
He nodded and they both turned their attention back to their father. Fp hadn't moved a single muscle, Jellybean spoke,  
"I was never good at forgiving people, I held grudges and could never let go but I think I can do better now. I will forgive you, and soon. But I need to know, Penny is she taken care of?"  
He nodded and she saw Jughead nodding too, the two of them must have discussed it.  
"What...what did you do to her, why does she hate you so much?"  
Jellybean asked, they must have had a serious past. He nodded thoughtfully and Jellybean couldn't bear the sight of his just standing there, she called him over.  
"You can sit."  
She said, pointing her gaze to the end of the bed. He nodded and strode forward but stepped soundlessly, slowly setting himself down on the end of the bed, still quite distance from Jellybean. She felt ridiculous with her leg the way it was.  
He spoke, quietly but Jellybean and Jughead had no trouble hearing him,  
"It's probably how Jughead got messes up with her in the first place, why she obliged him..."

"Kevin," Betty called out in disbelief, marching towards where he stood, half bent over a pool table, cue in hand and lining up for a shot when he looked up at her in surprise. But he recovered quickly and rose awkwardly from his position, handing his cue to the nearest person before making his way towards Betty, the other Serpents around him looked miffed about it to her surprise. She stood on the other end of the pool table and waited for him to come round. He stood before her and smoothed down his dark blue jumper like the normal Kevin would, even in this place he acted and looked no different.  
"Hey, Betty,"  
He said, pressing his lips together. Betty looked at him in disbelief. Hey Betty? Was that all he had to say?  
"What are you doing here?"  
She demanded and he sighed before answering, looking annoyed,  
"I come here sometimes, just, you know, to have fun. And I promise I haven't accepted anything from anyone, no drugs, cigarettes or anything. I'm only here for the pool and the guys."  
"Okay, but why here of all places?"  
"Of all places? There is nowhere else! I'm through with Northside boys. What do you expect me to do, just sit in a booth at Pop's? I've options here,"  
"I understand, it's just…"  
She trailed off but instead of looking guilty like Betty had half expected Kevin only set his jaw.  
"You have a Serpent boyfriend, it's no different."  
She knew it was different, and she hoped he knew it too but he was right, who was she to talk? She stood here too, didn't she?  
"Yeah, I know you're right, it's just odd, seeing you here. But I guess it's not nearly as odd as a Northsider like me being here."  
He smiled, the tension gone. All he'd wanted was for her to understand and accept it.  
"No offence Betty, but definitely,"  
He laughed and Betty snorted, secretly thinking that he had no idea how many times he'd actually been here.  
"You'd better get back to it then,"  
She said instead, showing herself much more okay with this then she really was, but it was his life, his choices, just like hers to come here had been.  
"That one there I think has it out for you,"  
She said, nodding her head towards a handsome, young man behind Kevin who'd she'd noticed had been paying quite a bit of attention to Kevin's ass as he'd lain bent over the pool table. And indeed, as Kevin looked over his shoulder to the man their eyes met and he winked. Kevin turned back to Betty smiling,  
"Thanks, Betty,"  
He said before fully turning around and heading for the young man, still smirking at Kevin. Betty watched him go and couldn't help but smile, he didn't need anyone's protection, he knew his way around the world.  
Her smile fell as she returned to her mission of finding Sweet Pea. She could have asked Kevin, given his apparent kinship with the Serpents but then again, explaining why she was looking for the wrong Serpent would be difficult. She walked around the bar, attracting a lot less attention then she thought she would.  
Although one or two Serpents looked at her in an odd kind of pity, she shrugged it off and kept walking when a Serpent approached her directly. What did he want? He was young, twenty-something but nowhere near thirty.  
"Betty right?" He asked, stepping before her so she couldn't move without having to make a fuss. Great. She wasn't sure what to do, or whether to answer at all so she only nodded. He continued, to her surprise he sounded sad and apologetic,  
"It's horrible what happened to Jughead, and his sister. I hope he'll be alright. He's not here very often so tell him from me that I hope they recover soon. I'm Eric, by the way."  
Betty's heart had stopped while he'd talked. What had he said? Had something happened to Jughead and Jellybean!? She began to panic but wouldn't let anything show to the stranger before her.  
"Right, thanks Eric, I'll make sure to tell them,"  
She said and moved passed him, she kept going, not sure where, she needed a phone, now. Were both of them hurt? How had this happened or who had done it? Did Jellybean get home alright?  
Pondering and worrying wasn't going to get her any closer to the truth. She was about to make her way back to Kevin when she noticed Sweet Pea, just sitting at the bar, no drink before him but talking to the barwoman. She had to stop herself from running and quickly strode over to him. She reached the seat beside him and wasted no time with pleasantries or explanations.  
"Sweet Pea," She said, but he'd already noticed her and turned to her in surprise,  
"Betty?…"  
"I'm really sorry for this, I came to find you to talk to you but something happened to Jughead and Jellybean, and…"  
She rambled and he interrupted her in disbelief,  
"You don't know!"  
He asked, suddenly understanding why she wasn't at the hospital. She looked at him angrily and he wasted no time pulling out his phone, unlocking it and handing it to her. She took it with a 'thank you' and gripped it tightly, she could call now, find out right now, but as selfish as it was she needed something else first.  
"I came to tell you the papers you wrote me are missing,"  
She said as she rummaged through her bag,  
"What?"  
Sweet Pea asked in disbelief, not anger, why was she talking about this now?  
"I looked everywhere and then I got this," She said, finally having gotten hold of the letter and gave it to Sweet Pea. "I'm sorry, I have to go,"  
She said and left him more confused than ever and walked quickly to the exit. She was finally alone outside, she dialled Jughead's number frantically, almost getting it wrong multiple times. Her stomach clenched in anxiety as she waited for him to pick up, the annoying ring of Sweet Pea's phone did not help. Finally, the ringing stopped.  
"Jughead," she breathed out, not sure what she'd do if he didn't answer.  
"Betty?"  
He asked in complete and utter shock. And only then did Betty realise her mistake, how on earth was she going to cover up or explain that she was using Sweet Pea's phone? She should have used Kevin's. But it didn't matter now,  
"Jughead, are you okay? I'll explain everything but just tell me, please, say that you're okay?"  
She asked and for a moment he said nothing and she thought he might not have heard her.  
"No, Betty, I'm not okay,"  
Jughead said, his voice breaking and afraid and Betty knew she had been foolish to have been so hopeful,  
"Okay, just tell me where you are and I'll be there."  
"The hospital," She said and she nodded, good, that wasn't too far away and tried not to dwell on why he would be there.  
"Give me five minutes,"  
She said, instead of asking all the burning questions she had in her head.  
"Hold on, just wait, I love you,"  
She said and hung up quickly before running back inside, heading straight for Sweet Pea. He was still sitting on the bar stool, his hand in his hair as he read the letter, probably not for the first time. He must have heard her approach because he turned to her, panic on his usually plain face.  
"I'm sorry that paper got you into this kind of trouble,"  
He said and she suddenly realised she'd been preparing herself for him to shout and scream, not for him to apologise.  
"It's alright Sweet Pea, neither of us could have known, besides, I lost them, not you." She hated to have to ask more from him but…"I hate to ask but can you take me to the hospital please, I can tell you more about the…"  
He stopped her by throwing her the keys,  
"It's alright, I know you'll get there faster by yourself."  
He said and she thanked him, he'd obviously been bursting for answers yet he'd looked passed that and now he was borrowing her his bike, so soon after getting it back. She would never have known Sweet Pea would go against his own interests like that had she not known him at Jughead's side. She left the bar, found his bike easily enough and wasted no time getting on and getting it started. She raced off as fast as she safely could and soon left Southside behind her. She went faster than she ever had before, getting over the little fear she'd ever had of doing exactly that. Five minutes later the hospital came into view. She finished the last few feet before coming to a stop just before the entrance, hardly waiting for the bike to stop before jumping off.  
She ran inside, throwing the doors open before her and heading straight for the reception desk.  
She spoke completely out of breath, fixing the strap on her shoulder.  
"I need to find Jughead and Jellybean Jones, I told him I was coming, quickly please,"  
The woman behind the desk nodded, clicking a few times with her mouse before asking,  
"And can I have your name please."  
"Betty Cooper, I'm Jughead's girlfriend."  
The woman nodded, typing it into her computer,  
"You can go right in, Jellybean is awake now but you'll have to discuss it with the father and Jughead first. I can call them for you…"  
"That's alright thank you,"  
The woman nodded and gave Betty the room number as she was left stringing together the little she knew before going on her way.  
She found the right room soon enough, Jellybean had only been placed on the first floor.  
She sighed with relief upon finding the right number but now that she actually stood right in front of it she had no idea what to do, should she just go in? Just simply walk inside or would that be weird? Weirder than knocking?  
Lucky for her she didn't have to decide and the door opened and she took a surprised step back as Jughead walked out. He lifted his head and noticed her too, and the two of them stared at each other for a second. Betty was the first to recover. She looked him quickly up and down, no bandages, nothing seemed wrong, he looked fine but by the hollowness in his eyes along with the utter exhaustion she knew he was not.  
Her eyes met his again and she wasted no time with words before pulling him close. He bent forward and wrapped his arms around her too, his head coming down on her shoulder,  
"I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier,"  
She said and he spoke softly, his voice cracked,  
"It's alright,"  
Even when he was in pain he would comfort her.


	28. Too much to cover up

Jughead and Jellybean listened as Fp spoke, and towards the end of it, they both sat there in silence, unable to speak.  
"I…I just gotta go outside for a second."  
Jughead said after a while. He couldn't breathe in this room and he knew Fp would care for Jellybean. He didn't wait for anyone's response before getting up and leaving. He couldn't understand it. After all his run-ins with Penny Fp had only decided to tell him now. He hardly noticed Betty until he almost walked straight into her. She looked him up and down, seeing if he was okay but all he could think about was her. She was sweating heavily, water dripping off her nose and her cheeks flushed red, her shirt sticking to her slightly. She must have been running. Her hair was windblown and free from its ponytail and it made her look impossibly cute. And beautiful. And she was here.  
He couldn't make any sense of it. Fp had just started his story when he'd gotten her call. Thinking it was Sweet Pea, he thought of just letting it ring. The last thing he'd wanted to deal with was Sweet Pea at that moment, but as a fellow Serpent, he knew he had to. He'd excused himself from the room and stood in the hall to accept the call, not believing his ears when Betty's voice came over the phone. Why on earth did she have Sweet Pea's phone? How had she even gotten it?  
But at the knowledge of knowing she was coming, soon he forgot all that. He needed her here so badly. He hugged her tightly, even though he knew he'd been doing that way too often lately, since Jellybean came back and even the phone call. She was his girlfriend, his love, not his mom, she shouldn't have to do this for him. But they both knew there was no one else, not his dad, as close as they were. And not Jellybean either, as much as he hated to admit it. But he knew it was true enough.  
And after spending most of his life with only one parent and basically an only child he knew that he needed his mom. Or a mother figure at least. And depending on Betty instead...He was afraid it would make her walk away. That one day she'd grow sick of his family and his drama and walk away.  
Betty didn't ask for the truth but he knew he had to tell her. Even if only to keep his own sanity intact.  
He pulled away and let the warmth of her hand on his cheek flood over him. He let it stay there for a while before taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth instead, brushing his lips over the tops of her fingers. He pulled her closer again, with his hand on her back, pressing ever so slightly. She smiled up at him and despite everything he smiled back. He removed their hands from his lips and dropped them to his side, entwined in each other. He pulled her along down the hall and further down into the hospital. She followed obediently, a puzzled look on her face but she wasn't complaining. They each had a playful smile on their faces. He looked into every hospital room's tiny window, looking for one that was empty. He found one soon enough and looked around him before opening the unlocked door and heading on inside, pulling Betty in behind him. He guided her into the room and let go of her hand to close the door behind them again. She stood in the middle of the room, waiting to see what he would do, where this was going.  
He walked right around her with no explanations, her eyes following him and she completely turned around as Jughead plopped down on the bed in the middle of the room. He lay back on the cushions, sinking into them as he folded his arms behind his head. Betty's confusion grew but she smiled at the goofiness of him plopping down on the bed. She moved to the bed as well and climbed onto the bed, laying in the space he'd left for her. She rested her head back again his arm as he moved to give her some more space, even though he already lay right at the edge. She shuffled higher up the bed and Jughead moved his arm from behind his head to come over her chest and his hand land on the top of her stomach. She snuggled into him a little closer and the two of them stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s warmth and closeness. They turned their heads towards each other, noise to noise, just taking in each other's breaths. The steady beat of the other's heartbeat almost sending both of them to sleep.  
Finally, Betty spoke, her voice a whisper, so soft he hardly heard it.  
"Jughead, what happened?"  
She joined her hand with his across her stomach, entwining their fingers and squeezing comfortingly. He sighed before starting to speak, looking at her sadly.  
"Jellybean, she went home but she never got there. A car rolled up before her and a few men came out, she couldn't see how many. They pushed her in and she fought them, as hard as she could..."  
He spoke in a whisper, but Betty could hear him perfectly and felt her breath thin as she listened.  
"She tried to escape so she put her foot between the door and the car when they slammed it shut. But it didn't make a difference, she broke it upon impact.."  
He spoke somberly as tears sprung to Betty's eyes. This had actually happened, to a 14-year-old. She was too young, only just a teenager, to know that kind of terror and pain. Jughead too. Betty gripped his hand tighter.  
"Keep going,"  
She whispered and he did. He told her everything from Jellybean being kidnapped to bringing her into the hospital, leaving nothing out. Betty stayed quiet and listened, but he spoke she had to keep herself from begging him to stop. To stop talking about the horrible things that had happened, to end his pain and just hold him, pretending nothing had happened and everything was alright. But she didn't say anything.  
Jughead kept what his father had told him and Jellybean for last.  
"My dad, he said he and Penny had old history. He...They used to be close, two of the best Serpents at some point. The King Cobra and the Black Mamba. But Penny was getting in deep with the wrong people, piling up debt and favours, not working enough to pay for it. She needed to escape and get out of town. She packed her bags and was ready to leave, her boyfriend coming with her. But they needed someone they could trust to get them out, someone who could cover for them. So Penny asked dad to do it. He did it of course. He said it was so dark he could hardly see anything, even with the headlights on and with the state of the car...They just got out of town and were heading for the highway when a car came out of nowhere, a drunk driver and he drove right into dad's car."  
Betty sucked in a breath, she already knew where this story was heading.  
"It's a miracle he even survived, that any of them did. He whirled the car around and tried to avoid it but he couldn't. The drunk's car hit dad's car right in the side door. The driver was killed instantly, while dad was knocked unconscious. And Penny, she was losing too much blood. Her boyfriend only just managed to call an ambulance before passing out too. They were all saved, only….Penny. Dad hadn't known the main reason she was pushing to leave town when they did. It was because she was pregnant. And she...She lost her baby in the accident."  
He said it with such sadness and regret it was as if he'd been there, watching the whole thing play out before him.  
Betty gasped silently at what he said. She'd been expecting something horrible, but losing a child… Betty would never have been able to imagine it, Penny, as a mother.  
"She broke contact with Fp after that and they never spoke again. She blamed it all on him, she couldn't take revenge on a dead man after all. But not a year later her boyfriend left her and she had never been able to get pregnant since."  
"That's terrible,"  
Betty said and he nodded, looking away from her up to the ceiling. She did the same.  
"Yeah, it is. It's probably why she hates me and Jellybean so much. And why she went after my sister in the first place…"  
"Fp got to have a family and children but she never did."  
Betty finished as he trailed off in thought. He could only nod. He kept staring at the ceiling for a long time, his face expressionless but a million thoughts running through his head before he settled for just one.  
"Fp said it had been too early on to know the gender of the baby but I wonder whether she'd named her child already."  
He whispered and Betty closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheek. No one, not even someone as evil and twisted as Penny deserved to lose a child, especially not like that. She couldn't imagine how she would feel after that. She couldn't bear to imagine it.  
But knowing that kind of pain, how could Penny have possibly come so close to inflicting it upon another, for revenge. How many years had Penny wanted revenge for her unborn child? How many days had she spent thinking about her child? Knowing she would never hold her baby in her arms. Imagining its tiny feet and tiny hands and big blue eyes but knowing she would never meet him or her. She would never get the chance to meet her baby. She would never know whether it was even a boy or a girl. She would never get her baby back. To get to watch it grow up, to hear its giggles and cried, to hear it call her mummy. Could she imagine what her child would have looked like? Betty didn't know.  
She opened her eyes again and didn't think about it anymore. She couldn't bear to.  
"Jughead, she didn't deserve that but neither did Jellybean. Or Fp. Penny needed someone to blame and Jellybean shouldn't have suffered because of it. If there's one thing I know is that we are not out parents. And should never have to pay for their mistakes."  
Jughead nodded and faced her again. He cupped her face with his free hand and moved her closer to him. He kissed her ever so softly. She now knew everything of his side of the story, everything that had happened to Jellybean. But he still knew nothing of what had happened to her, why she had called from Sweet Pea's phone, why she hadn't been answering her own. But before he could ask Betty spoke.  
"C'mon, let's get back to Jellybean,"  
She said, kissing him once more before getting off the bed. He said nothing and nodded, he didn't want to leave his sister by herself and he hadn't even told her where he'd gone. No point in pushing for answers that didn't need answering right now. He followed her out the door and they headed back for Jellybean's room. Betty hesitated slightly before heading inside, Jughead following her in. She came in shyly and walked up to Jellybean.  
"Hi,"  
She said, coming up to Jellybean's bed. She looked startled to see her but smiled back. A small tired smile but a smile nonetheless. Betty couldn't believe she could even smile so soon after what had happened to her. Betty had come in completely unprepared for Jellybean's injuries, Jughead had told her what happened to her, but somehow Betty hadn't quite processed them and never imagined them on Jellybean. Seeing her now…  
It was a shock but she refused to let it show and kept smiling.  
"Hey, Betty,"  
Jellybean replied and Betty took a second to think of what to say. She'd never been in a situation like this before but she doubted Jellybean wanted to talk about her traumatic experiences anymore.  
"It's nice to see you again Jellybean. Veronica and I had already started planning your welcome home party. Any requests?"  
Betty said, speaking of the top of her head. Jellybean's smile grew and little too Betty's knowledge Fp and Jughead smiled too.  
"That sounds really nice, thank you. I would love that." Jellybean said, "But maybe not just yet."  
Betty refused to let her smile falter and only nodded understandingly.  
"Of course, whenever suits you."  
She said and Jellybean thought for a second and Betty couldn't help it but her eyes fell to the blue tube running from her hand to a see-through fluid hanging on a pole. She averted her eyes quickly and back to Jellybean, she hadn't noticed any of it.  
"Well, I don't know about any dates but what about a pool party or something?"  
Betty's smile grew,  
"Great idea, I'll mention it to Veronica."  
Betty said and stepped away from Jellybean to let Jughead see her.  
"Hey, how are you feeling?"  
He asked after walking around Betty and giving her a grateful smile.  
"Much better, though my foot is completely numb. And my nose hurts"  
Jellybean said in discomfort, moving her leg a little. Betty examined her wounds more closely now Jellybean wasn't looking but looked away soon afterwards anyway. Because she knew that these wounds only scratched the surface.  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Betty moved away from the door in surprise. The door opened and a blonde woman, a nurse, came in. Clipboard and everything.  
"Hello," She said, "I'm just going to check something to see if Jellybean is getting all the medication she needs."  
She said smiling in a very nurse-like tone and headed for Jellybean's bed, checking through the papers clipped at the end. She looked through them for a moment as the rest of them just waited. She nodded to herself before turning to Fp,  
"May I speak with you and your son for a moment please?"  
The nurse asked, making her way back to the door. Betty knew he would protest, neither Jughead nor Fp was about to leave Jellybean alone now.  
"It's alright," She told both of them, "You go and I'll stay here with Jellybean."  
Betty offered and both men nodded their thanks before following the nurse out. The four of them must look like the oddest group of people ever.

Jughead knew Jellybean would be in perfectly good company so he followed the nurse out. The nurse only took a few steps away from the room before speaking to them.  
"Now, she's not in too bad a condition. She broke her foot and she will have to keep it in a cast for two to three weeks and possibly need a fourth after that without the cast. She didn't break anything else, although her noise came close to, and the cuts and bruises on her face will disappear in the following two weeks. But don't be alarmed if they change in colour, they can range from going to yellow and blue, it's all perfectly normal and part of the healing process..."  
The nurse told them as the Jones's nodded along.  
"But the main problem is that until we know what happened to her we can't fully diagnose her with anything. We'll be checking on her in the following weeks for trauma or PTSD, especially since she seems hesitant to talk about what happened to her, but that won't be enough... Is there anything you can share with us?"  
She said in concern but Jughead had already been prepared for the question.  
"We want to help her, we really do, but she isn't telling us and I don't want to push her..."  
Jughead said in fake distress, hating that he had to lie like this for his own sake. And in doing so, keeping Jellybean from getting the proper treatment. Fp put his hand on his shoulder in support Jughead knew it to be more than just an act. Fp hated the lying as much as he did.  
"I understand." The nurse said, "I just want to warn you...What happened to her could be really bad and you need to prepare yourself for that, to be there for her. With trauma comes a whole lot of difficult symptoms and as a family, you must help her through it."  
She paused before continuing, her voice soft and worried,  
"I'm afraid there is a chance she has just been through some sort of sexual assault, form of violence or a seriously traumatic experience. I don't mean to frighten you, and again, it's too early to tell but we will be looking into it. But even if it doesn't look like it now, the symptoms can occur later. If there is anything you can tell us, that would be a great help."  
Jughead and Fp nodded. This was the last thing they needed right now.  
"Thank you,"  
Fp said and the nurse nodded before leaving. Father and son shared a tired look before returning to the room. They came in without knocking to find Jellybean leafing through a notebook Jughead recognized as Betty's. One she used for the blue and gold. But why on earth was she carrying that around? Whatever Jellybean read it seemed to have added some colour to her cheek and let some of her tiredness slip away. Jughead had no idea how Betty did it, cheer Jellybean up like that. And Jellybean had to be the strongest human he'd ever met…  
"What she say?"  
She said, looking up from her book to Jughead and Fp. This time Fp took over,  
"You did break your foot, but nothing else, it will heal in about 4 weeks...But the trouble is they think you have trauma or PTSD and we need to tell them something, quickly, so they can get you the right treatment."  
He said softly and Jughead couldn't stand the sight of the colour once again leaking from Jellybean's face.  
"I'm sorry JB,"  
Fp said and Jellybean nodded,  
"Yeah, I know. But the blame can't fall on either of you,"  
She said and Betty took a seat, trying to think.  
"I'll stand witness for anything…"  
She offered and everyone nodded, thinking of a solution. Fp started pacing when Betty's phone rang. She checked it, it was her mom. She sighed and hit decline, her mother would have to worry where she was a little longer.  
"Okay, let's try this."  
Fp said,  
"So, Jellybean is walking home, to the trailer park…."  
He started slowly, setting the story. Jughead helped fill in the rest.  
"She has her headphones in and is listening to music…"  
Everyone was deep in thought that no one noticed Jellybean grip the side of the bed tightly, her breathes coming slower.  
"A man grabs her from behind. She can't see his face…"  
Fp continues slowly and Betty nods along before looking up to Jellybean, not sure why. But what she saw made her blink.  
Jellybean's knuckles had turned white from grabbing the side of the bed and her face completely void of all colour. Betty suddenly realised what idiots they all were. They were so stuck in making a cover-up story they completely overlooked what this was doing to Jellybean.  
"He holds her as he grabs her phone and runs for it…"  
Jughead continues, pacing as Fp nods in agreement.  
"Jughead…"  
Betty said warningly, not wanting to make a big deal out of it for Jellybean's sake.  
"She runs after him, almost catching up to him when he elbows her in the nose, causing her to trip…"  
The two of them went on, neither hearing or caring what Betty said,  
"Guys, stop it,"  
She said a little louder. Jughead looked at her in confusion and held his tongue but Fp didn't.  
"She falls and hurts her face, breaking her foot as she falls…"  
"I said STOP!"  
Betty suddenly yells, startling Jughead and getting a surprised look from Fp. The two of them look at her, between each other and back to her again. She stared them down with absolute furry and they finally hear it. Jellybean's almost silent tears as she clamped her hand over her mouth to minimize the sound.  
"Please stop…"  
She pleaded and the Jones's men each turn to her and their expressions turn shameful as they realised what they'd done.  
"Jellybean, I am so sorry, I didn't think…"  
Jughead began apologizing but Betty was having none of it.  
"Both of you, get out now, finish your story there,"  
Betty said, no longer raising her voice but sternly, crossing her arms and waiting for them to obey, hiding her suspicion that they wouldn't. To her surprise, they listened and left the room with nothing but a final apologetic look at Jellybean, who'd begun to curl up in herself.  
Betty approached her as Jellybean put her knees up and put her head down, careful with her injuries.  
"It's alright Jb, you don't have to think about it anymore."  
She shook her head but her tears stopped,  
"I can't stop thinking about it...I keep feeling their hands on me."  
Betty nodded, she knew this wouldn't be so easy.  
"I know, but we're all here for you, you can talk about it if it makes you feel better and we'll listen, or if you prefer to keep it to yourself that's fine too."  
Jellybean nodded and lifted her head, eyes still red and fearful.  
"It might help to talk about something else, to distract yourself,"  
Betty said, not sure how to talk to an almost stranger. She couldn't imagine how Jughead was doing when that almost stranger was his sister…  
But Jellybean nodded, agreeing with the idea.  
"Ok….Well, um...I actually wanted to tell you this a while ago but never did. At the diner when you were talking with your mom, I didn't mean to but I overheard your conversation."  
Betty blinked in surprise. When she'd said something to distract her she hadn't thought they'd be heading in this direction, but she let her speak.  
"And you were right, I did come here and hurt both my father and my brother, as you said, I skipped a whole load of chapters but Betty, this is nowhere near the end."  
Betty nodded, remembering her inaccurate analogy.  
"And I'm sorry I hurt Jughead all these years ago and a few days ago. But I'm so happy he had you and you were there for him... but I need you to know, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying. I'm never going back to Toledo again, but I do need to have my mother in my life as well. But we'll figure things out. For now, we'll take one chapter at a time,"  
She said with a smile, colour returning to her cheeks. Betty smiled back,  
"You're incredibly brave you know that?" Betty said, "My sister just left with her twins and I have no idea when I'll pick up the courage to go see her. Because I'm afraid she won't want me there. But you give me hope, you did it and it turned out for the better, so maybe I can too.  
I'm sorry you had to hear it like that though, and it really isn't your fault for leaving, but your choice for returning."  
The two smiled at each other, each a deep respect for the other. And yeah, Fp and Jughead would be there for Jellybean, but so would Betty. Even if it made Betty miss her sister so much...


	29. A call from afar

Important notice! I have sworn off watching the show until finishing this story so if any storylines intertwine with the new season it will be purely coincidental, I will base none of this story of new events in the show. But feel free to alert me of anything. And continue writing your wonderful reviews and suggestions! ;) And lastly, I went back to edit something I'd forgotten about in the last chapter, sorry about that.  
Either way, enjoy.  
About half an hour after the incident a nurse came in and kindly kicked Betty out so Jellybean could get some rest. She walked out and heading into the waiting room without a fuss. She found both Fp and Jughead seated there as expected, only she was surprised to see they were both filling out paperwork and more of those infernal forms. She noted the pile of those filled out and not and noticed they were close to finishing, very close.  
They were already working again towards keeping Jellybean here. Betty had already known that Jellybean was staying before she'd told her, but never going back to Toledo? That would be hard on her. Seeing Fp sitting there, one leg crossed over the other as he wrote, the paper on his knees without his jacket on still made Betty blink. She couldn't believe he'd done that for Jellybean, and that Jughead had come so close to doing the same. She could only hope the now ex Serpent wouldn't back out of it. She wondered how the other Serpents would take it, not well, she guessed.  
"Where'd you get those from?"  
Betty asked, but she wasn't only asking out of curiosity but as a conversation starter as she took the free seat behind Jughead. It was dark outside but Betty didn't know what time it was. The rest of the waiting room was empty aside from one woman falling asleep with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Neither men looked up to answer.  
"I was in the trailer when I got the phone call from Toni, I thought I might as well grab them on my way out."  
How he had thought of that when his daughter had just been kidnapped Betty didn't know but she nodded in understanding anyway.  
"And you knew then she would still want to stay?"  
Betty asked and he shrugged,  
"I could only hope."  
He said and an awkward kind of silence settled between the three of them, probably because she'd just kicked them out of Jellybean's room. She couldn't help but feel guilty about it, maybe she had gone too far. She sat there in silence for a second but no conversation came or showed any sign of doing so. All she did was listen to the sound of Fp and Jughead's scribbling, the sound of nurses walking softly on the sparkling clean floor and the occasional cough from the women behind the reception desk.  
That got boring really quickly and she went to pull out her phone when she remembered she didn't have it. She swore under her breath, but Jughead must have heard because he suddenly turned to her,  
"Right, sorry I forgot, your mom called me a while back but I missed it, I think she wants to speak with you."  
He said apologetically and Betty's eyes widened. She'd completely forgotten about her mom, she must be worried out of her mind by now. Noticing her reaction Jughead pulled out his phone and handed it to her. She thanked him before getting up and opening his phone. She'd learnt the code months ago.  
Betty quickly hurried outside as she called her mother back. She pushed through the glass door of the hospital entrance just as her mother picked up,  
"Jughead! Finally! Have you seen Betty?"  
Her mother demanded in relief as Betty put the phone to her ear.  
"It's me, mom, I'm sorry I…"  
Alice didn't let her finish,  
"Where on earth are you? Do you have any idea what time it is!"  
She didn't in fact and after checking quickly noticed it was way past 7.  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you mom but something bad happened to Jellybean and she and Jughead went straight to the hospital. We're all still here, including Fp."  
"Oh, that's horrible!" Alice gasped, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!" She said angrily and for a while, Betty heard nothing but rustling.  
"Mom?"  
She could only hear the sound of a door opening and an engine starting,  
'Mom!"  
Betty called louder and this time her mom answered,  
"I'm on my way."  
Alice said and Betty's eyes widened, that had not been her intention.  
"What? Mom, no!"  
Betty tried to stop her but Alice was having none of it.  
"I'm coming, end of discussion."  
Alice said and Betty knew she was about to hang up, but she had to tell her the most important parts first. And before she arrived.  
"Mom, listen to me! This is important! Jellybean was kidnapped by Penny, but no one can know that! And Fp, he gave up being a Serpent for her!"  
"WHAT?!"  
Alice asked in utter shock at Betty's rash explanation. Betty wasn't sure what surprised her mother the most of the two events. Either way, Betty was really worried Alice would crash her car if she told her any more of what had happened,  
"You got to help him through it."  
Betty told her. She'd noticed it, the odd familiarity and tiny sparks between Fp and Alice. Betty didn't need that drama in her life, but she knew Alice would help him, in her own Alice way. The Coopers would look after the Jones's.  
"I'm going as fast as I can…"  
Alice said, the panic out of her voice, nothing but a cool determination in her voice, before hanging up. This hadn't been Betty's intention at all, but maybe Mama Cooper was just the person for this kind of chaos. Betty stood outside for a moment, just letting the cool air clear her thoughts and the comfortable silence of the night wash over her, the silence in the hospital to weary and sad as if awaiting known death. She took a last deep breath before heading inside again. Her mother would be here soon enough. She took a seat next to Jughead again and sighed heavily. Jughead looked up at her and she answered his silent question.  
"Upon telling her why I wasn't home she took it as a cue to come here and take care of everything herself,"  
Betty said indifferently. She really didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. Jughead seemed to be of the same opinion and only nodded and said nothing further. Fp looked up in surprise for a second, his eye directed at the door as if Betty announcing she was coming would materialise her out of thin air, or summon her through those doors. It didn't. He returned his attention to the sheet on his lap almost immediately, as if he'd never looked up in the first place.  
"Anyway," She said, "Is there anything I can help with?"  
She asked, nodding to the stack of papers, changing the subject. She hated not doing anything at times like these, where there was so much she couldn't fix, she'd grab at anything she could do. But both men shook their head at the same time, both returning to their work. Betty sighed in exasperation.  
"Well, it there anything else I can do?" She asked a little sharply but neither men reacted. She was about to apologise for kicking them out of Jellybean's room, sure that was the reason for their coldness when another idea came to her.  
"Do you want me to call someone? Archie maybe?"  
She offered to Jughead, wondering whether it would be better to have a close friend of Jughead's here.  
Jughead shook his head but this time he spoke, and what he said made both Betty and Fp stare at him in shock, not believing the words that had just left his mouth. Neither thought Jughead believed the words he'd spoken.  
"No, Archie can't help…Call my mom instead."  
He said with a shudder.  
"Jughead, are you sure?"  
Betty asked in disbelief, bordering on worried. Where was this suddenly coming from? He didn't meet either of their staring gazes and nodded again.  
"Yeah, she's her mother, she should know her daughter was hurt and Jellybean might need her, even if she won't ask for it, or even admit it to herself. Her mother has always been there for her."  
He said, the unspoken words hanging in the air between the three of them.   
But never there for him.  
"Well…What will you tell her?"  
Betty asked, eyes still wide. She couldn't believe they were actually talking about this. The definition of a taboo subject.  
"The same story we tell everyone else, or whatever Jellybean wants to tell her."  
He said, biting his lip and finally looking up at Betty, worry filling his dark eyes. Betty wondered for the first time whether he had his mother's eyes. Jellybean's were the spitting image of her father's, but Jughead? She didn't know.  
Betty looked from Jughead to Fp. Fp nodded and Betty understood. If Jughead was ready, Fp would make sure he was too.  
Betty leant forward and gave Jughead a soft kiss on the cheek before rising to her feet.  
"You want me to call?"  
She asked and Jughead nodded,  
"You or Jellybean."  
He said and Betty opened Jughead's phone again.  
"Alright, I'll go ask Jellybean if she wants her mom here,"  
Betty said and walked away, leaving the Jones's to discuss what had just happened. Betty walked down the hall in a little bit of a haze, how quickly everything had been turned upside down once more. Betty picked up her speed a little, hoping to get to Jellybean's room without someone trying to stop her. But a nurse just turned the bend and seemed to guess at Betty's intentions. It was a different nurse of before but one who knew of Jellybean's condition. The nurse stopped before Betty and took her by the arm, but not firmly, simply warningly.  
"I'm sorry, young lady but you can't go in at the moment, family or not, she needs her rest now."  
She spoke in a soft, non-hostile voice and Betty didn't resist her. She only pleaded urgently.  
"Please, it's very important. We're trying to reach her mother in Toledo,"  
The nurse seemed to understand the situation at hand and let Betty go with a nod.  
"Alright then, but be quick and don't panic her, we all want her to have a speedy recovery."  
Yes, they did.  
Betty nodded in thanks as the woman moved from out of her way. She reached Jellybean's door and wondered how she would tell Jellybean about all this. She opened the door and headed inside. She found Jellybean on her bed reading a book, frowning deeply.  
"Hey, Jellybean,"  
Betty said as she entered and Jellybean looked up, returning the greeting, no longer surprised at her unexpected entrances.  
"Why aren't you resting?"  
Betty asked softly but Jellybean didn't return her smile.  
"I can't." She said exhausted, "I can't even close my eyes."  
Betty swore at herself silently. Of course she couldn't. Betty came closer to the bed, carefully taking Jellybean's hand in her own, giving her time to pull away if she wanted to. But she didn't, she just looked out of the window as Betty gave Jellybean's hand a gentle squeeze.  
"I asked Jughead whether I should call anyone else here. He said he'd think it was best to call your mom. Would you want that?"  
Jellybean looked at Betty in the same surprise Betty had looked at Jughead.  
"Did he really say that?"  
Jellybean asked, shocked and hopeful. Betty nodded with a smile.  
"Yes, yes please."  
She told Betty nervously.  
"What will you tell her?'  
She asked worried and Jellybean let out a shuddering breath.  
"Not the truth, not yet anyway."  
She said sadly, looking down at her hand attached to the tube.  
Betty wasn't sure how to talk to Jellybean, she wanted to be kind and gentle but not make Jellybean feel like she was being treated as a child.  
"Anyone else you want to call?"  
She offered and Jellybean's head shot up,  
"Yes, a friend of mine in Toledo."  
Jellybean said automatically and Betty smiled and was glad to help as she handed Jellybean brother's phone over.  
She left Jellybean to call in private and headed out of the room again, wondering what disaster they were bringing upon themselves.  
Jellybean couldn't wait to call Kath, she dialed her number the moment Betty left the room. Kath picked up on the third ring and greeted her as she always did over the phone,  
"Hello, who is this?"  
Only this time it was justified.  
"Kath, it's me."  
Jellybean said and Kath responded excitedly,  
"Oh Jellybean, I'm so glad you called. I actually memorised your number and you didn't pick up…"  
Jellybean couldn't believe the irony of that,  
"Told you that would come in handy…Only now I don't have my phone anymore,"  
"What? Why?"  
Kath asked annoyed but with humour in her voice. But Jellybean only bit her lip before saying, her voice serious again,  
"Yeah, um. Kath, about that…"  
"Yeah?"  
Kath asked worried, noticing the edge to her voice,  
"Something happened. It's over now, no one got seriously injured or anything. But I need you. I need you and my mother here as soon as possible. Can you get her here?"  
Jellybean asked, pushing away the images that threatened to surface.  
"Well, are you all okay?!"  
Kath asked worried, not believing no one was hurt. Jellybean blinked away her tears before responding, perfectly calm.  
"Yes, of course!"  
She said, her voice just a little too high as she fought the heavy breaths rising in her chest.  
"Okay, I'm walking down to my parents right now to tell them I'm going. I'll get your mom after that and once I'm there you need to tell me everything…"  
Kath said, urgently as she pulled her stuff together, a few extra clothes, first aid kit, all kinds of stuff. She spoke only again when she began thundering down the stairs. Jellybean had always had a small amount of jealousy towards Kath because of the size of her house, the nicer clothes she wore. But she shared all of that with Jellybean, who was impossibly grateful for all of it. Jellybean seemed to spend more time there than at the trailer, especially in the first year of her arrival where the trailer felt like an echo of her previous life.  
"I came out to my parents yesterday, by the way, it's what I wanted to talk to you about."  
Kath said, causing Jellybean to blink in surprise. She'd completely forgotten about that, she still needed to do that too she guessed. She hadn't thought about it before.  
"Oh, how did they take it?"  
Jellybean asked and Kath sighed,  
"Honestly, I don't even know. It went alright, but I think they are both bombed their only adopted child won't give them any grandchildren. I'll tell you everything later."  
"Oh, so you're definitely…"  
Jellybean trailed off.  
"Lesbian? Yes. Do you know yet?"  
She said and Jellybean wondered when or even how Kath had become so sure about all this. She'd have to ask once she saw her. Jellybean on the other hand…  
"I honestly haven't had any time to think about it. But I guess I am too, yes."  
She said and it somehow…Helped. Oddly enough it removed some of the constant aches in her chest. An odd feeling it was, but a pleasant one, to come out to a person who was like you, the opposite to what everyone expects you to be. Without knowing it, both girls were smiling at what the other had said,  
"We'll talk about it loads once I get there," Kath said, "I'm just outside the kitchen, I'll call you once I'm in the bus stop."  
"Okay, great, thank you so much, Kath."  
Jellybean said and Kath responded in that humble way of hers.  
"No prob. But I'm still waiting on that reward by the way."  
Jellybean snorted at that, but she truly was impossibly grateful.  
"Bye Kath,"  
"Bye Jellybean,"  
They each said before hanging up. Jellybean put the phone down and just sat there for a moment, processing everything. Within two hours her girlfriend and mother could be here. That took a lot to sink in and Jellybean almost felt ashamed of her own condition when they'd arrive. She knew it wasn't her fault, she wasn't a fool to blame herself but still.  
Jellybean could hardly believe the thought herself, she didn't know how she'd tell her parents… Kath was lesbian, and so was she. Or was she? She suddenly remembered her dream of a future her without ever coming to Riverdale, she'd been at least bi then as well.  
She thought about it for a bit longer, not coming to any conclusions before picking up the phone again. She dialled her mother's number and waited in anxiety for the response. Her previous phone calls with her mother hadn't gone so well. Her phone rang on and on and with every moment of silence between the rings, her breath hitched, thinking her mother had picked up, but she hadn't. She tried reaching her three times but she didn't pick up. Jellybean gave up and let the phone sliding through her lap, hoping her mother wasn't picking up because for some reason she had no access to her phone and not because she recognised the number as Jughead's.  
Jellybean turned her head to the window as she thought. After a while, her thoughts faded away and all she saw was the window. It was dark outside and it had begun raining. There was no light coming in and the only thing she could see in the window was her own reflection against the glass. She looked so pale, her noise completely covered in a white bandage she could no longer feel, her hair clung lifelessly to her face. Everything about her was lifeless and the only thing reminding her that she was, in fact, alive was her breathing and her own heartbeat echoing in her ear. She couldn't stand not being able to move, to get up of this infuriating bed. She leant forward of her cushion a little, the small motion already exhausting her too much. She could give up and lie down again but she wanted to be able to move, to stop being so useless, to not have to just lie there when her mother and girlfriend arrived.  
All her strength had gone to fighting of the images in her head but she had just a little left. If she only distracted herself, if she only moved, she'd be okay. With that thought, she pushed harder and made it to a straight sitting position. She slung her one leg over the side of the bed, moving the other in its heavy cast with her hands, groaning with effort. She stopped for a second to take in a few deep breaths but she'd done it. She carefully slid off the bed, her good foot coming down first to support the other.  
The crutches the nurse had brought in were leaning against the wall just three steps away. She' make it to them, and then….She'd have to see. With one foot to the ground, she started carefully shifting her weight when a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her as the drug kicked in again. She fell faint for a second before pulling out the tube sticking into her hand. It hurt as she carefully removed it but she couldn't walk with it in, and the drugs wouldn't allow her.  
She shifted the rest of her weight to her good foot and managed to stand, keeping the other of the ground with enormous effort. The crutches were further away then she'd anticipated. She took her first hop and almost fell on her face, something was seriously up with her balance. She managed to steady herself and take another hop forward. And another. She was so close she could almost reach for them but not quite. Her breathing came out haggard and she felt the effort pull at her but she gritted her teeth and kept going. She counted to three in her head before taking the final step. Only this time she really did lose her balance, her good leg wobbled and she tried to steady herself with her arms but couldn't. She fell sideways and was lucky to not have fallen unto her broken foot. She managed to break most of her fall with her hands, thrown to the ground behind her and landed with her bad leg crossed over her other leg as she lay sprawled out across the floor. The pain in her leg increased tenfold and she screamed out in pain, her behind and hands hurting as well.   
She whimpered when suddenly the door burst open. She couldn't see who it was, her eyes clamped shut in pain but whoever it was, she didn't want them here. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. But there was nothing she could do as the person approached her and knelt on the floor beside her. They carefully lifted her from under the armpits and brought her to her feet. Her foot barely touched the ground before they slung her arm over their shoulder and took up all her weight. Her good foot hopping along as they led her back to the bed. She didn't want to go back to the bed, she wanted to walk again, she wanted to run, to be able to run into Kath's arms when she came, not lie like a dying animal in her bed. But she didn't resist as whoever it was brought her back to the bed. Whoever it was she knew it wasn't a nurse from the fabric of their shirt. And the strength the person had picked her up with, it could only be one person.  
"It's okay Jellybean,"  
Her father said, exactly who she'd predicted it to be. The pain in her foot had leaked away by the time her father laid her back down onto her bed. But she couldn't stop the panicked breaths coming out of her. She opened her eyes to find her vision swimming and saw that a nurse had entered too, lurking behind Fp but not intruding, just making sure she was okay. Fp ignored her.  
"It's okay Jellybean, " He repeated, "You'll get it, you just have to be a little patient first. And let someone help you,"  
He said, guessing correctly that she'd tried to walk by herself and fallen.  
"I can't do it," Jellybean shuddered hopelessly, "I can't do anything!" She cried out in frustration and defeat. "I couldn't stop them for taking me either."  
She said and saw Fp flinch. He couldn't stand seeing his youngest daughter in so much pain. What they had done to her…It had broken something in her. And now after what she'd said, and the nurse hearing every word, their story would no longer fit, they'd have to find a new solution.  
"Hey, listen to me." He said sternly, forcing her to face him. Betty and Jughead turned soft and kind as a response to her pain but Fp didn't, he never had. When Gladys had been losing too much blood as Jellybean had been born he prayed to no God, he did not fall apart. He did the same as he did now. He'd taken Gladys by the face and said,  
"You're going to make it through this, you are strong, in a few moments you are going to meet your daughter. Don't give up on that, don't give up on her, she needs you here. Understand?"  
Gladys's eyes had filled with fresh tears but she'd nodded and with a final push Jellybean had been brought into the world and she had been there to hold her in her arms. And to protect her for all her years to come, never failing her, even when Fp had.  
"You're going to make it through this, you are strong." He now said those same words to his daughter fourteen years later, "You can do it. Your foot will heal and so will you, but only if you let it. You need to give yourself some time. You can do anything."  
He said and she nodded. And even though her features were so close to his, at that moment she was just like her mother. She was just as strong and as brilliant and resilient and he knew that his wife had raised her like that, his wife had given her daughter that amazing strength.  
"Good," He said and let her go. Kissing her on the forehead as the nurse reattached the tube to her hand and Jellybean's breaths calmed. Fp stepped aside as the nurse helped Jellybean back under the covers and made her comfortable, smiling at her warmly. The nurse left soon after, having checked Jellybean for any further injuries. But Fp stayed a little longer.  
"I came to tell you that all the paperwork is done." He said and she smiled in surprise.  
"Really?"  
"Yes, and tomorrow Jughead and I will drop it at Mr Whitman's desk and he'll sort things out. We still need to sign a couple of things with him as a witness and he'll come here and talk with you a little more. And then he'll draw a file together and present it to the judge."  
Fp said, holding Jellybean's hand. She listened to every word and once he finished she nodded happily.  
"Good," She said as her eyelids grew heavy.  
"Mom and Kath, they're coming,"  
She said sleepily and Fp's gut tightened but he only smiled. He didn't know who Kath was but he guessed she was a friend of Jellybean.  
She felt really tired all of a sudden and found it hard to open her eyes again as she blinked. He noticed it too but didn't leave her side as she gently drifted off to sleep. Only when her breathing turned deeper and more regular and her hand in his went slack did he stand. He left her bed solemnly and left the room in the same manner, closing the door softly behind him. He headed back out into the waiting room and found there to be one more person there then there had been previously. Jughead sat on the floor, his head in Betty's lap, who sat in the seat above him, her legs folded beneath her as she twirled one of Jughead's curls. And then there was Alice, pacing backwards and forwards before the couple. She sensed his approach and stopped to turn to him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, so it was true, he'd given up being a Serpent, just like she had those many years ago. He looked up to meet her eyes and a sort of understanding passed between them, they'd both given up the same thing for the same reason, for their daughter and their own happiness.


	30. Old wounds

Kath was running as fast as she could.  
She'd told her parents it was an emergency, telling them about Jellybean in the hospital. Her father offered to drive her, not wanting her to make the journey alone. She thanked him but first she needed to get Gladys. As much as Kath wanted to get to Jellybean as fast as possible she couldn't leave without her. She left the small bag she'd packed and ran out of the house. Jellybean lived about a five-minute drive from here, but Kath didn't want to waste any time with the car.  
She ran and ran without stopping a moment, even if the stitch in her side cried out for her to stop. She ran mostly on the road but with a three-minute shortcut down a side ally that no car could go through. Running through town at the time of night was never a good idea but she knew the way well and jumped over the obstacles invisible in the dark easily by memory. Finally, she reached the field where Jellybean's trailer was. She stopped to check her watch, she'd done it in 6 minutes, a new record. Kath and Jellybean had raced each other to the other's house many times, each searching for new short cuts with every competition. But they both knew Kath far outran Jellybean, no matter what. She jogged the rest of the way to the door but was still out of breath upon arrival. She knocked on the door urgently, pounding her fists against it. Her father would be here with the car any minute now.  
"Gladys!"  
She called out but no response came. Kath had always known this door to almost always be open, to let out the fumes from the paints or to let in the smell of the fresh fields and flowers.  
Now Kath wondered where on earth the woman was. If she was out it would be impossible to find her. She gave up on the door and tried the handle. Locked. But she had no idea whether it was locked from the inside or outside. Trying her luck she picked up the spare key from the flowerpot it was kept in and opened the door. It opened with its usual creek and Kath ran inside.  
"Gladys!" She called out again but still, no response came. Kath searched the whole house but she was nowhere to be found. But where was she then?

Alice stepped towards Fp just as he did and when he didn't avert his gaze or step away again she hugged him briefly. She pulled away and said something which only he could hear, neither Jughead nor Betty heard it. They each moved to the other side of the waiting room to talk more privately. Alice made to sit down when she suddenly remembered something. She made her way back to a puzzled Betty.  
"Here," Alice said, handing Betty her phone and…  
"You got another letter," Alice said as she handed it over. Betty knew what it was immediately and her heart stopped in her chest but she refused to show it. She only smiled and thanked her mom politely. Alice didn't seem to notice or only blamed it on the recent events. She went back to talking to Fp without another word. She'd probably organise everything in the end. Jughead lifted his head from her lap and turned round to look at her in confusion.  
"A letter?"  
He asked and she couldn't even react, her hands were shaking. He turned from curious to worried.  
"What is it, Betty?"  
"This isn't the first letter I've gotten," She confessed, "I got one before coming here. It's why I was using Sweet Pea's phone."  
Jughead couldn't understand how the two were connected.  
"Betty, you're not making any sense,"  
She nodded, hearing herself, she knew he was right. She flipped the letter over in her hand, anxious but afraid to open it.  
"I know," she said, "I…"  
She stopped and didn't know what to say. Should she tell her and Sweet Pea's secret?   
Her father pulled up into Jellybean's driveway. Kath ran to his window as he brought the car to a stop. Rolling the window down in confusion as she approached.  
"What is it?"  
"She's not in there,"  
Kath asked panicked, not sure what to do and itching to get to Jellybean.  
"We'll find her," Her father comforted her as she got in the car in the passenger seat beside him. He drove on through the darkness, his headlights lighting the way.  
"Where are you going?"  
"I'm not sure yet. Where would she go? Here, try calling her,"  
Her father said, not taking his eyes off the road as he handed her his phone.  
"She's not picking up,"  
Kath said after trying three times to reach her.  
"Could she be at a bar or something?"  
Kath asked off the top of her head. Her car was still in its usual parking spot so she couldn't have gone far...Unless she was picked up.  
Her father shrugged,  
"Let's go find out,"  
Was his only response as he turned the wheel, driving into the road back to town. The bar was a quick drive away and they got there in under five minutes. He parked the car in one of the few free places. Why this place was so busy on a Tuesday night she couldn't understand.  
Her father got out the car and when she made a move to follow her he stopped her,  
"Stay in the car,"  
He said and while she didn't like it, she obeyed. She sat in the car in anxiety, watching him walk into the bar. He entered the full bar and starting looking around for Gladys. The place had not changed since his youth. He started with the bar and tapped a few women on the shoulder that might be her. But when they turned he saw that none of them were her. He apologised to the twenty-something woman he bothered before moving on to the booths and tables. He looked around for a while longer before finally spotting her. He approached her carefully, no idea how many drinks she'd already had. She was sitting right at the back, at the last table by herself. Everyone at the tables around her were laughing and talking except for her. She simply sat and drank her drink, deep in thought.  
"Hey Gladys," He said as he reached her. She snapped out of her daze and looked up at him, not recognising his voice. Only when she saw his face did her expression turn surprised.  
"Samuel? What are you doing here?'  
She asked, not so much curious as simply shocked. He was the last person anyone would expect to be in a bar. He was the definition of a 'dad' with a lawyers job and wearing grey sweaters. He indeed hadn't been here since adopting Kath, or even meeting his wife.  
He didn't take it as an insult and took the seat opposite her.  
"Kath got a call from Jellybean,"  
He said and rightly so Gladys didn't seem so surprised about that. Both parents had caught their child calling the other way too late into the night on numerous occasions.  
"She said that Jellybean had been in some sort of accident and she'd in the hospital. But she's alright now."  
He said, adding the last part hastily. Gladys physically flinched at the news and stared at him in horror, her eyes wide.  
"W-what?"  
She asked, barely able to get the word out,  
"Jellybean wants you and Kath to come to Riverdale,"  
He finished and realised how stupid it was how little he knew.  
"Do you know how serious it is?"  
She asked, ignoring the whole part about coming to Riverdale.  
"I'm sorry...I don't know."  
He said, understanding her pain. Kath had not been a healthy child.  
"I…"  
She stared at nothing hopelessly for a second before getting to her feet. But she stood too fast and her head exploded in pain. She wobbled as she grabbed her head. Samuel rose quickly to balance her, placing his hands on her shoulder blades. She steadied herself with a nod of thanks before picking up her handbag and moving around the table, stepping carefully but hurried. She stumbled a little as she walked towards the exit, abandoning her half-drunk drink. He grabbed her by the arm to help her balance. He wondered how often she'd come here since Jellybean's departure. By the time they were out the bar, she was leaning on him heavily. Kath noticed his struggle and got out to open the backseat door for him. He basically dumped her inside. Samuel got in behind the wheel again and started the car. He got out of the parking spot and began driving home.  
"She's drunk," He explained, though Kath had gathered as much, "We can't bring her like this,"  
Kath gritted her teeth. Too many delays.  
"Fine,"  
She said and buckled her seatbelt as her father drove on.

Betty pushed her guilt away and finally told Jughead the truth.  
"Saturday night, I was walking home from Veronica's when Sweet Pea and I bumped into each other…"  
And she told him everything that had happened since then…Well, almost. She kept all the personal stuff she and Sweet Pea had talked about to herself, telling him nothing of Mama Felicia and talking about him. Instead, she told him of coming up with the new Serpent column and looking for other ways to help Southsider teenagers and him writing a draft for her.  
"He then went to drop off the draft but you bumped into him. I'm sorry what he said to you, he really shouldn't have. He was just trying to distract you,"  
She tried to explain as he got to his feet and walked a few feet away, his head in his hands. She stopped and didn't know what to do. He stood there for a long moment before turning to her,  
"You… You were going to bring someone new into the blue and gold, Sweet Pea of all people and you weren't even going to tell me! And now you're defending him?" He said angrily, "How long were you going to hide it from me? How many lies were you ready to make up to cover the articles?"  
He asked her and she was at a complete loss of words. What could she say?  
"I'm sorry Jughead, he wanted to keep it a secret. The Southside column would be his way of telling the many stories he knows of."  
Jughead shook his head in disbelief,  
"You are so not getting the point," He said and she stood angrily,  
"Why are you getting so angry about this? I'm sorry I went behind your back but I wanted to help him,"  
She said angrily right back at him, he almost sneered in her face.  
"Why would you help him?"  
Jughead said, not understanding the naive girl in front of him,  
"Why wouldn't I? He couldn't go home because your sister stole his bike, I wasn't about to leave him like that!"  
"Well, you should have!"  
Betty stared at him in shock, temporarily frozen speechless.  
"No. No! I would never do that! So yes, I offered him the keys to the blue and gold so he'd at least have somewhere to sleep."  
She said. She would never confess to offering Sweet Pea to stay with her, it would only cause him unnecessary pain.  
"Now it all makes sense," Jughead said, shaking his head, "All of what he said. He wasn't saying that to distract me, but out of spite! He was spitting me in the face because he likes you!"  
"So what if he does?!" She yelled, "And if you'd let me finish you'd know that he did tell me, right after he told you that horrible stuff. And I turned him down. Nothing will ever happen between us. It's why you're getting so angry about this isn't it?"  
"Wait?! He confessed his love to you?! And now you expect me to just ignore it! To accept that!"  
"No, I expect you to deal with it! Just like I deal with you and Toni having a... Thing when we broke up!"  
"That's completely different!"  
"That doesn't matter. That isn't even slightly what this whole thing is about. You have nothing to be jealous of."  
Betty said, almost pleading with him, pleading him to understand, like he always did,  
"I don't believe you,"  
He said and the words hurt Betty's heart, like a blow to the gut. After everything, he didn't believe her.  
"Were you with him? Is that why you called me from his phone?"  
He asked, his voice soft and dreading. She shook her head vigorously.  
"NO! It's not at all like that…"  
She tried to convince him but he only took a step back, away from her.  
"Is the letter from him then?"  
Jughead asked bitterly and Betty shook her head,  
"God, oh God no. I have no idea who sent this. I read through Sweet Pea's draft before school but then I couldn't find it anywhere. I was just planning on telling him when I got the first letter. It said that, whoever the sender was had the paper, with a snippet as proof and they would publish it if I didn't do what they said, I have to respond somehow, show my willingness...But...I don't know how! Or what to do!"  
She said, tears falling over her cheeks. Jughead's face fell into sadness and horror at the news. Their previous argument was forgotten as he ran to her. He pulled her into him as she cried,  
"Oh Betty, I'm so sorry."  
He said and she nodded into his shirt. She knew that, and she was too.  
"I took the letter with me and went to find Sweet Pea at the White Worm… But then a man, he said...He wished his condolences for your accident and I didn't know what to do, I ran to Sweet Pea, gave him the letter and rode here."  
She mumbled into his shirt before she pulled away, his arms still loosely around her, protecting her like a cocoon as she opened the letter she still had in her hand. With shaking hands, she opened it and read it aloud.  
"The clock is ticking. Sweet Pea can't get you out of this."  
She read with a shaking voice. In his anger, Jughead grabbed the letter from her hand and crumpled it up into a ball. He snarled,  
"Sweet Pea might not, but I sure as hell can."

Kath and Samuel arrived back home. They each grabbed an arm and helped Gladys out of the car. She stumbled to their front door. Samuel took all the weight for a second as Kath rang the doorbell repeatedly. She waited for her mother to open the door as she waited in the cold. She rubbed her bare arms down when she heard the lock unlock from the inside. Her mother soon after opened the door and seemed surprised to see Kath, even if she was the only one who rang their doorbell quite so repeatedly. She then saw her husband, or more importantly Gladys and understood. She opened the door wider to let them all in. She ran ahead to the kitchen to make them all some coffee, especially for Gladys. Samuel guided Gladys into an armchair but as he let her go to sit down she protested,  
"No, I need to get to Jellybean," She said but couldn't actually manage to stand, so Samuel made no attempts to stop her. Kath impatiently helped her mother with the coffee. She needed to go, she felt it like an itch, a shove. She gave her father his usual black with a little milk and drank her own Latte as she took her usual spot on the sofa. Her mother served Gladys a very dark mug of coffee. Gladys drank it eagerly, no doubt burning her tongue. She wanted to get out as quickly as possible too.  
Her mother came to sit on the sofa beside Kath and whispered to her.  
"Call Jellybean back." She said, "Tell her you'll be late, but you'll be there. Drunk or not, the three of you should leave in half an hour."  
Kath nodded and left the room to do as instructed. Samuel and his wife shared a look  
across the room. You can't sober someone up with anything but time, but at least now Gladys would look more e sober and perhaps walk straighter.  
20 minutes later Gladys was on an all alert and insisted on getting out the house. She ran to the car and jumped into the passenger seat as Kath and her father ran behind her. Everyone got in and they drove, finally on the motorway, finally on the way to Riverdale.  
In two hours they'd be there, Kath told herself. Just two short hours. It wasn't at all how she'd imagined seeing Jellybean again but she would see her. And could only pray it would be in one piece. She felt tempted to call her again but she'd told her already when they were leaving. Jellybean had to rest she knew but she kept pulling out her phone, expecting a call anyway. She didn't have coverage in the car anyway. She checked the time and realised they would never get there before midnight. And there was no telling how the meeting would go; with Gladys half drunk.  
Gladys had tapped her foot furiously, impatient to get there, but it had soon worn off and she now sat snoring in the front seat. The alcohol keeping her down. Probably for the best Kath thought, the woman wasn't going to do herself any good spending two hours worrying. But Kath felt filled with the same anxiety. The headlights lit up the car a few seconds at a time as Kath stared out of her window, seeing almost nothing. She tried keeping her mind off everything, mostly the image she had of Jellybean lying broken on a hospital bed. She sent her friends prayers of good health. Just when she thought she would never get a moment's rest of her constantly whirring mind, she shot awake. She must have fallen asleep about an hour into the ride. Her head slipped off of the hand she'd used to prop up her head. She could still hear the most noise of Gladys snoring as she sat up straighter, wiping her eyes. She yawned and turned her attention back to looking outside, wondering how close they were. She couldn't recognise anything, although that wasn't too much of a surprise.  
"Kath?" Her father asked, looking at her through his mirror. She looked up,  
"Yeah?"  
"We're here,"  
He said and she shot up in shock, staring out of the window. How normal it all looked. This wasn't Riverdale yet she knew. There weren't enough houses for that, but they'd pass into it any moment now, and all Jellybean's descriptions would come to life. Suddenly, even through the darkness, she could see the change, the many white houses, one after the other, all hardly lit up in the dark. They were there.  
They were in the town Jellybean had lived most her life, the town she'd left behind and found again.  
They were finally in Riverdale.


	31. It all comes down

The thirty minutes Jellybean managed to sleep were haunted by dreams. She was surrounded by fear, hugging her tightly and pushing the air from her lungs. She woke screaming, the bile rising to her throat along with the fear. She vomited, only just able to move her mouth away from the bed to over the side in time. Her stomach was empty yet it didn't stop. As she half lay over the bed, her stomach clenching and gagging she couldn't breathe. Finally, a nurse came in. She ran to the other side of the bed, to Jellybean's back and told her to breathe while rubbing soothing circles over her back. Jellybean didn't want a stranger's hands on her. She still couldn't take in a single breath. The nurse told her to empty her mind of everything but breathing but she couldn't. She couldn't push the pain away. She tried, again and again, to get rid of all the horror and memories but she couldn't. She was no longer throwing up but still couldn't get up as she gagged and shocked on nothing. Nothing but her own fear.  
"Don't try fighting it, just let go and breath,"  
The nurse said but Jellybean shook her head. No, she had to keep fighting, she had to keep pushing it all away.  
"It's okay." The nurse said soothingly, "Let go now."  
Jellybean was too tired to object and let go. She let her mind go, breaking down her invisible walls but the memories and terror did not flood in. They flooded out, they just went, clawing her mind before leaving, but leaving none the less and…  
Breath.  
A voice in the back of her head said and she did, she gasped in a deep breath, with it the sharp sting of the smell of puke filled her nostrils. She almost gagged again at that and moved away from the puddle on the floor. The nurse helped her sit up again and handed her a tissue and a glass of water. Jellybean took them both gratefully. She handed her another glass and a few pills. Jellybean took them without complaint. Anything to never have to feel like that again. Not much later a woman with a bucket and mop came in to clear up the mess.  
"Next time something happens, anything, you can just press this button,"  
The nurse reminded her kindly, pointing to the little red button within Jellybean's arms reach. Jellybean nodded her thanks and understanding and the nurse left with a last smile.

Not far from the hospital Kath sat in the car, her heartbeat doubling when they passed the Riverdale hospital sign.  
"Faster!"  
Gladys suddenly yelled, the first thing she'd said the whole drive here.  
Sam obeyed and the car shot forward as Kath grabbed on tight. They made it to the hospital and before her father even had the chance to bring the car to a stop Kath swung the door open and leapt out, ignoring her father's shouts of protest. She almost tripped, the sudden change of speed throwing her off but she recovered quickly and starting running towards the hospital. She sprinted across the road, praying she wouldn't get hit. She brought up her speed as she came out on the other side and ran through the hospital doors, throwing them open before her. She only stopped once she was standing in the middle of the waiting room. She looked around her but knew that were Jellybean's family here she wouldn't even recognise them. But they must be here, she told herself. She puffed out the little air she could get in her lungs as every person looked at her. Luckily there weren't too many, it would have to a process of elimination.  
She looked around the many seats. On one side two teens sat, about sixteen she would have guessed, with the same blonde and black hair. On the opposite side, a forty-something blonde woman sat beside a man with short black hair who looked so much like Jellybean that had she been a boy, Kath could imagine her looking like that. Witch made that guy her father.  
Of all the things she could have said she didn't think of any of them so she only said the first word on her tongue,  
"Jellybean,"  
The younger boy stood and approached her, the other's still only staring at her in shock.  
"Hey, are you Kath?"  
The teenager asked her and she nodded, still out of breath,  
"Is… Is she okay?"  
Kath asked, scared to death for the answer. He hesitated a split second before nodded,  
"She's physically a bit sore and she broke her foot, but were more worried about her mental health,"  
He said softly as Kath breathed in deeply, it's more than she could have hoped for.  
"You're Jughead?"  
She asked and he nodded, "Nice to meet you."  
He said but all she could think about was Jellybean, so near.  
"Please, can I go see her?"  
She asked and he nodded. Jellybean noticed the blonde still seated, following their conversation with a worried expression.  
"Yeah, of course, I'll take you," He said and started heading towards the hall at the end of the waiting room. Kath followed him eagerly, falling into step beside him. As she walked she swore she heard the door opening again. She looked over her shoulder instinctively to make sure she had actually heard it. But as she looked she saw nothing.  
Jughead seemed to stop at a random door but Kath knew that Jellybean would be behind it. He knocked and stood aside for her to open it. She nodded at him gratefully and opened the door carefully, not sure why. After all this time she should be throwing the door open but somehow she was nervous all of a sudden, she wasn't used to the feeling. She prepared herself and looked up to the hospital bed where Jellybean sat. She looked so incredibly pail, her eyes filled with pain and cheeks red of recent tears. But as she looked at Kath, her oldest friend a joy overclouded that pain. Kath knew it was still there but pushed back. Kath wanted to cure her of everything, like some crazy fairy but instead, she settled for what she could do. She ran to her and careful not to hit anything that might hurt she jumped onto the small space between Jellybean and the rest of the bed softly, not wanting to bounce the bed too much in case it upset Jellybean's cast leg. She landed there on her knees and stayed like that as she pulled Jellybean against her, holding her tightly but gentle not to hurt her. Jellybean felt hot and sweaty against her and Kath hated herself for it, but Jellybean smelled awful, like puke. But she only gripped her tighter. She couldn't imagine what the girl she loved had gone through.  
Jellybean shook in her arms. She couldn't believe Kath was here, that she'd just simply walked through that door.  
The two friends finally pulled away from each other but stayed close. They took each other in. How odd, how everything about the other was the same, so unchanged yet everything else, the whole world was different.  
"I'm sorry I smell so bad,"  
Jellybean apologized embarrassed but Kath only shook her head,  
"I would hug, even if you were covered in shit,"  
She said and Jellybean smiled, the movement making Kath's eyes dip to her lips. She suddenly realised how close she was, inches from Jellybean's face. Jellybean went quite. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want Kath to move away from how close she sat. Kath leaned in a little further and Jellybean moved to meet her, their lips softly brushing. Jellybean thanked God the nurse had given her a mint but drove the thought from her head again. Their first kiss had been new and unexpected, this time no one had any doubts and kissed each other softly. Jellybean leaned further forward and Kath laid her hand on hers.  
It was short but brilliant. They each pulled away and opened their eyes again, seeing how hard the other was blushing, each of their pupils dilated. Kath loved seeing the colour return to Jellybean's cheeks.  
But they were both pulled out of the moment when a voice came from the doorway, where the door was left open.  
"Forthysia!" The voice said in shock and both girls turned to the door to find Gladys standing there, a look of utter shock and surprise on her face.  
This was the last possible way Jellybean imagined herself coming out.

Before Gladys had come running into the room she'd had to face FP. She'd watched Kath run out of the car in shock, she would have had a heart attack had she seen Jellybean doing that. Even if she wished she could jump after her. Instead, she waited for the car to stop and only then leapt out, thanking Sam before sprinting to the road. She looked left and right and just as she was about to cross and when a car came by, hooting for her to get out of the way. She jumped back, cursing the guy to hell. She couldn't run as fast as the fourteen-year-old but she could run. She ran across the street and ran into the hospital, not stopping until she was standing before the reception desk.  
"Hello, my name is Gladys Jones I need to see my daughter Forthysia Jones please,"  
She said in a rush, barely understandable. But the receptionist caught it and pulled up her file before nodding,  
"You can go in, it's number 27 just down the hall,"  
She said with a strong regional accent Gladys had stopped getting used to. She was in Riverdale. The place she'd sworn she'd never go to again. She shook off the thought and turned to march down the hall when she came face to face with Fp instead.  
She blinked in shock. She'd known he would be here, but knowing that and actually seeing him were two very different things. And somehow, someway, she'd prayed they would miss each other and that she could just grab Jellybean and go. As much as she wanted that, she knew that was far from possible. She didn't meet his eyes straight away, seeing the blonde women a short distance behind him first. Far enough as to not intrude but close enough to intervene if necessary.  
She recognized the woman without any trouble. It was Alice. Alice Cooper. One of her closest friends. Or had been.  
They'd each had a child at the same time, drawing them in together. It had been Gladys's first and Alice's second. She remembered Alice helping her a lot, giving her all kinds of advice, babysitting, watching their small children play together as they shared a cup of coffee. It had always seemed wonderful, if not slightly odd, that an ex Serpent and a Serpent's wife could be such good friends with each other. But they did.  
"Hello, Gladys,"  
Fp said, pulling her from her thoughts with a jerk.  
His voice sounded softer then she'd remembered. His whole face seemed softer, less angry, less sharp.  
"Hello, Forsythe"  
She said, never having called him anything else. Fp was a Serpent name. She looked at him more closely and noticed something missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it… Suddenly she saw it and blurted out before she could think about it,  
"You gave up being a Serpent?"  
She asked confused and he nodded.  
"Yes, only yesterday. For Jellybean,"  
She had no idea what to think about that. For years he had had it and then he'd all of sudden, after not seeing her for five years, given up his jacket for her.  
"How have you been?"  
She asked carefully, he shrugged.  
"Good days and bad days I suppose,"  
She could relate.  
The tension between them was like a tight wire and this chit chat wasn't making it any better. Fp cut the wire right in half,  
"I'm sorry Jellybean ran away, but she wants to stay here now,"  
He said, his tone apologetic but a matter of fact.  
"I didn't come to give my daughter away,"  
She said through clenched teeth, glaring at him. Suddenly a voice came from the hallway.  
"It's more like a shared custody really."  
Gladys immediately turned to the voice, it having triggered something in her head, it sounded so familiar, yet different to how she'd last heard it. And there he stood, her son. He walked further into the waiting room and a girl Gladys hadn't noticed before stood and moved beside him, there if she needed her. Alice's daughter. But Gladys hardly paid her any attention.  
For years she'd imagined Jughead, slowly getting older, his face changing. Looking at the young man before her, he looked exactly as she'd imagined.  
"Jughead," She breathed out his name in shock and utter sorrow. She swore she saw him flinch ever so slightly at her calling his name.  
He stood a few feet away and didn't move closer. She took two more steps towards him before stopping. She didn't know where the line was, the line where he'd either hug her or bolt. So instead she stayed standing where she was.  
"I missed you so much,"  
She told him as tears welled up in her eyes. Such a small, lost boy she'd left behind. But now, he stood tall, determined and the girl beside him looking at him with all the love in the world. He'd found his way without her. Looking at him, not just his face she suddenly realised what he was wearing. Her entire body froze at the sight of the black jacket. She tried reasoning with herself it was just a black jacket, but she didn't believe it.  
She even recognised the small of the jacket, the Serpent smell of fresh air and bar smog.  
Every nightmare she'd ever had was coming true, her son had become a Serpent.  
She'd abandoned her pup, only for him to join the wolves. He was a Serpent. She breathed heavily and was about to say something when he beat her to it.  
"Are you okay?"  
He asked, concerned. She only shook her head and he nodded, he wasn't okay either.  
"I'll take you to Jellybean,"  
He said and headed down the hall again. He turned his back to her, the Serpent on his back staring at her. An impossible fear filled her, but above that, a pure hatred. She whipped her head around and faced Fp again as Jughead kept walking. She bared her teeth at him and snarled in his face.  
"You did this,"  
He must have noticed how she'd stared at the jacket dawning Jughead's back because he glanced at his son, but his glance held no regret, no disappointment, he was proud. He turned back to her, his own teeth bared, pushing his face up to hers.  
"Oh no, this one's on you,"  
He said and turned away from her, marching back to his seat and sitting down without another word. Gladys hid her shock well and just as abruptly as he had she turned around and walked down the hall, following Jughead. Jughead hadn't stopped and she ran to catch up to him. For once she was running towards a Serpent. She shook off the thought and walked up beside him so she wouldn't have to look at it. But she knew she couldn't ask him about it, she had too much to answer for herself. So instead they walked in silence. She had no idea what thought haunted Jughead's head.

He'd walked back down the hall again after dropping Kath off at Jellybean's hospital room. He heard voices and looked up, only to freeze in his tracks. Before him was his mother. He couldn't believe it. He could only see her from the side but it definitely her, just as he remembered. And she was talking with Fp. He approached her in a kind of daze but didn't say a word. Betty noticed him and came up beside him.  
"You okay?"  
"I... I don't know,"  
How on earth was he supposed to know what to feel seeing the mother who'd abandoned him again? He felt nothing, yet everything at once.  
"Mom,"  
He whispered, loud enough he could hear himself say it but he knew she couldn't. He realised that all he wanted to do was hug her, to be a child again, before she left, when she still wanted him. She wanted her to soothe him like his father never did, like he remembered her doing so many years ago.  
But he also wanted to walk right past her. Wanted her to feel that same neglect, wanted her to suffer as he had. But he knew she'd suffered too. She took a deep breath and took a step forward, putting on his most confident face.  
"It's more like a shared custody really,"  
He said, hearing Gladys comment. She turned around and he swore he would collapse at the look she gave him. The utter shock and pain on her face. He'd remembered her as beautiful, but now he suddenly realised how beautiful she really was. Even if she was older it was as if no time had passed. She had a few more wrinkles, her skin a little paler but it was as if time had stood still. He'd never admit it to anyone but a few weeks after she'd left and he stopped being able to sleep he started making up his own stories. He imagined that she was an angel who had come down to earth to take care of him but had to go back to heaven. He now thought of that image he'd made for himself, the beautiful woman before her with enormous white wings and a bright halo, smiling down at the baby in her arms with no light, just normal, plain skin instead of her beautiful burning white glow. No one else could see that she was an angel except for him, it was like their little secret.  
"Jughead," She said and the illusion fell away. She was just a woman, a woman who'd abandoned her child but not to go to heaven. Because she didn't want him anymore. The thought rang through his head as she spoke again.  
"I missed you so much."  
The first words she'd spoken to him in five years. And exactly the words he wanted to hear. Well, not quite. He wanted her to apologise, to admit she should never have left him. But he settled for what he got. He somehow managed not to cry, even as her own eyes filled with tears. How he had missed his mother too. How he had wanted his mother back.  
But he couldn't say it.  
He could only ask if she was okay and take her to Jellybean's room, where she really wanted to be. Not here with him. He started walking, hoping she would follow but wouldn't see his face. Silent tears fell down his cheeks. She heard her feet hit the floor behind him, she was running towards him. For once, she was running towards him. He walked on normally and the tears finally stopped, luckily just as she came up to walk beside him. It took all his effort to keep from sniffing and keeping his breaths regular. He did it by trying to forget she was there. Finally, what felt like an eternity later they reached the door and he did the same for his mother as he had for Kath. Knocking and letting her open it. She opened it eagerly but nervously and stepped inside.  
"Forthysia,"  
He heard her say as he retreated back down the hall. He couldn't stand to watch his mother be a mother to someone else. He understood that was the whole part about having a sibling, but most of his life he hadn't known that and now…After all the years he felt it had to be his turn. He didn't want to think about that, he wanted Jellybean to be happy, he wanted everyone to be happy. Suddenly it was all too much for him and he stumbled. His chest exploded in a terrible throbbing pain, he cried out and fell to the floor, panic once again seizing him. His heartrate broke out double and he felt the sweat forming in his hands. He lay on the floor and couldn't get up, he was shaking and shuddering. He couldn't control anything.

Betty sadly watched as Fp retook his seat, the poor man. Alice seemed to get that too and the moment Gladys turned her back on them she pulled Fp into a hug. Betty saw his entire body shaking. Alice laid her head on his shoulder and comfortingly rubbed his back. But she wasn't fooling Betty. Betty could see her mom's own teary-eyed face. She'd forgotten how close Gladys and her had been, and after all that time Gladys hadn't even acknowledged her.  
Betty turned her gaze away from the two broken people in each other's arms and looked down at her hands, giving them some privacy. Why did this happen to them? They don't deserve this, Betty thought, feeling her own tears come to the surface. They were tears for Fp, for Jughead, for her mom, for Jellybean, for poor Kath and even for Gladys.  
Betty had seen the look on both Kath and Gladys’s faces when coming in, desperate to see Jellybean. They each loved her very much.  
Betty only wished she could do more to help. But this was something that wasn't her place to fix. She looked up again from her hands and down the hall. There was Jughead, just coming out of Jellybean's room, looking sad and lost in thought. She watched him for a moment. He deserved this least of all of them. She looked away again for a split second and when she looked back to him she noticed something odd. He took a wobbling step and then actually stumbled. She stood up abruptly, not sure what to do. She was running towards him when he started falling. She ran to him, calling out his name,  
"Jughead!"  
She cried out and tried to catch him but he'd already hit the floor once she got to him.  
"Jughead!"  
She shouted again panicked, getting on the floor beside him. He lay on his back, his entire body shaking. She cupped his face and forced him to look at her.  
"Jughead, look at me. Tell me, what's wrong!"  
She said but he was shivering so violently and so cold, his eyes rolling back in his head.  
"Jughead!"  
She tried again but still, he wasn't snapping out of it. She shook his head but no reaction came out of him. She had no idea what to do. She heard running footsteps behind her and turned just as Fp and Alice came running up beside him. She looked at them hopelessly.  
"What's wrong with him?"  
She asked panicked. Alice only shook her head as she examined him,  
"I…I don't know. He seems to be having some sort of…"  
Fp finished for her as he kneeled down beside his son.  
"Panic attack. He had them for years as a kid,"  
He quickly explained and tried helping his son. To pull him back from the dark.  
"I need help here please!"  
Alice shouted, rushing off to get someone as she repeated the call for help. Betty stayed with Jughead as Fp spoke to him.  
"Jughead, open your eyes!"  
He said in his commanding voice and Jughead began to obey.  
"Good, now look around you. Do you know what you're seeing? It's your family, you girlfriend and your father."  
He said and Jughead nodded ever so slightly.  
"Okay. We're here for you. Now breath."  
But this time Jughead couldn't follow the instruction. Betty sat there silently, looming over him and gently caressing her hand over his scalp. Fp fell silent, thinking.  
"What… What is it?"  
She asked, silence wasn't good.  
"I need something to distract him but I don't even know what triggered it,"  
Betty nodded. She could help with that.  
"Hey Jughead, remember when Jason was murdered and together we solved it? Just the two of us. We solved an entire crime when the police couldn't. As crazy as it sounds, I miss that. I miss the two of us investigating together, being a detective pair. So maybe you can help me find out who send those letters and how we can help all Serpent teens. I have plenty of ideas but I need your help, someone from the inside." she forced a weak laugh, "And right now, you're not much help on the floor."  
"I guess I should get up then."  
He said, raspy and slurred but he said it and smiled. Betty smiled back and helped him sit up.  
Fp stared at the girl in amazement. Just at the sound of her voice he'd seen Jughead stop twitching as much and the more she'd said about what they'd done together, the more he'd begun to relax, the less he'd panted and taken normal breaths instead. He sat up, swaying a little, looking incredibly tired but fine.  
"You should get some sleep boy."  
Fp said Jughead nodded in agreement. The nurse finally arrived, coming in at the sight of three people, one of them a grown man, sitting on the floor, completely exhausted. Fp yawned before getting to his feet. He approached the nurse and talked to her, but Jughead and Betty weren't listening. He shuffled closer to her and kissed her softly.  
"I love you, Cooper."  
He said, pulling away. Betty smiled,  
"I love you too, Jones."


	32. Sweet Dreams

Jughead had never felt as exhausted in his life. The nurse had examined him for any injuries before bringing him to another hospital room, just like Jellybean's and near her's too. She showed him the room and left him there. He managed to thank her before she disappeared. He walked further into the room just as Betty came in, closing the door behind her. She plopped down in the comfortable chair set near the door, glad to be out of that waiting room, even if it meant another gloomy hospital room. She yawned loudly as she leant back into the soft cushion and decided nothing was getting her out of it again until she'd had some sleep. Jughead smiled at her from where he stood beside the bed, but she didn't see, her eyes already closed. But she wasn't asleep just yet. Jughead turned away and picked his boots off, pulling off his socks and his shirt and jacket soon followed. But he kept his trousers on. He dropped all his clothes to the floor, not worrying about anything but getting into bed. He crawled in underneath the sheets and with effort managed to keep his eyes open to look at Betty. She still had her eyes closed and looked like she was just about to drift off to sleep, appearing perfectly content sleeping on the chair. He smiled at her again. He took her in for a full second before taking his beanie off his head and throwing it at her. He grinned and called her name just as the beanie hit her softly in the chest before falling down into her lap. She opened her eyes slowly and not fully, looking down at the beanie before her eyes slid back up to him in confusion.  
"Come here,"  
Was all he said, not demanding, just… wanting. She stood and walked over to him, no doubt in her step or face as she moved towards the bed. He moved to make space for her and she climbed in under the covers beside him, laying her head comfortably against his chest as his arm went around her. She handed Jughead his beanie back with a roll of her eyes but he only smiled back at her goofily. His smile caused the corners of her own mouth to twitch upwards too. But instead of throwing his beanie to the floor to join his other clothes he put it into her head, pulling the flaps over her ears to keep her warm. She smiled up at him and he returned it. For the second time, in what felt like months, even if it really only had been days, she was wearing his beanie. A few minutes later the two of them were fast asleep, too tired to talk or think of all their worries. They melted into each other's warmth and stayed there, blissfully.  
The same couldn't be said for their companions.

Gladys still stood by the door in utter shock, no idea what to do, completely frozen. Jellybean was the first to recover but didn't move away from Kath. She would never do that. Instead, she only turned her head towards her mom as she entwined her fingers through Kath's, not caring for the consequences.  
"Hey, mom,"  
She said, her voice sounding cracked but not weak. She would never be weak again. Gladys seemed to get over her shock by the sound of her daughter's voice.  
"Hey, baby, how are you?"  
Her mother asked sadly and concerned, stepping further into the room.  
"I'm alright now,"  
She said softly, the truth. She was alright.  
Jellybean missed the brief second Gladys's hand had clenched and unclenched into tight fists but Kath hadn't. She'd spotted the movement and looked at the woman before her sadly.  
The strong mother had endured a lot, and now she'd been practically forced back into Riverdale…  
So Kath made it easier on all of them and slid off the bed and gave Jellybean's hand one last squeeze before letting go.  
"I'll be just outside if you need me,"  
She promised and, as much as she hated it, left Jellybean. Left her to speak with her mother, figure things out, work through the cobweb of complications. She nodded to Gladys in goodbye as she walked passed her, ignoring the gratefulness in the woman's eyes. She walked the rest of the way to the door and closed it again behind her. She sighed deeply and for a second just leaned back against the door. They'd kissed. She felt giddy, her stomach flipping as she thought about it. Her and Jellybean, she could never have imagined it, and now she could never imagine going back to what they were. The soft feel of her lip, the tickle of her breath, she loved all of it. She pushed herself off the door, letting herself float in her head for a few more seconds before coming back down to earth again.  
She had no idea what to do with herself.  
She guessed she could do nothing, nothing but keep her promise. She headed out to the waiting room and took the first seat she came to, the closest to Jellybean. She sat with a huff and quickly checked her watch, quarter past 2. What a night.  
She pushed down her need for answers. Her need to demand them, from anyone, Fp, Jughead, Jellybean. What had dimmed the shine in Jellybean's eyes? Why had she vomited? When had any of this even happened? She stopped asking questions she knew she couldn't answer for herself, they only increased the number of them racing around in her head. She instead looked around the waiting room. She hadn't even noticed how empty it was until now, most of Jellybean's family wasn't even here. Except for Fp who came walking in, beside the blonde again. Fp noticed Kath sitting by herself, probably looking very distressed and worried and took the seat next to her. The blonde took a seat further away and picked up a magazine, flipping through it without another word.  
"Hello,"  
Kath said to the man sitting beside her. If anyone had told her she'd ever meet this man she would have laughed in their face, then probably punched them. Fp returned the greeting and said,  
"You're Kath then?"  
She nodded, either Jughead or Jellybean must have told him about her. She wondered how much.  
"I'm Fp,"  
He introduced himself.  
"I know,"  
She responded,  
"Jellybean told me about you,"  
He had no idea just how much. All the terrible things she knew he'd done. And now, the good things too.  
"What happened to her?"  
She asked, and he shook his head.  
"Only she can tell you,"  
She sad and Kath nodded, of course, she understood. She knew that deep down, she too only wanted to hear it from Jellybean.  
"How were the last few days here in Riverdale?"  
She asked instead of pushing. He seemed relieved at the simple question, a question he could answer.  
"It was tough at first, a lot of stuff to work through but we go there. And by some miracle, she managed to forgive me. I'm actually getting her back, it hits me sometimes, that I'm actually doing something that will get me my daughter back,"  
She smiled, at the hope and dreams in the man's eyes, pushing away the thought of what would happen to her. Would she be left alone in Toledo?  
"If you need me for anything, just ask."  
She offered and he nodded his thanks. They sat in silence beside each other, just waiting for the time to move faster when the hospital doors opened again. They both looked up and watched as Sam walked in. He spotted his daughter immediately and walked to her as she did to him. He pulled her into a comforting hug, his anger from previously disappearing. Or so she thought before he whispered something softly into her ear.  
"Don't run out like that again."  
She nodded as she gripped on to him. He knew she needed someone familiar to hang on to. Fp looked at them, standing in an embrace for a second longer before averting his gaze.

Gladys let Kath leave before approaching the bed, tears in her eyes,  
"Baby, what happened?"  
She asked, so softly it brought Jellybean back to when she was a small child again. The time she'd fallen off the swing, when Matt, before they'd been friends, had pushed her into the lockers. That soft voice lulling her to sleep, pushing her fears away and making the nightmares drift away.  
The voice she'd missed so much. The person she'd missed so much, her mother.  
Jellybean wanted to tell her everything, lay bare all that had happened. But she knew she couldn't. Not if she wanted to stay.  
She knew the moment she'd tell her, her mother would grab her by the hand and pull her away again. Away from her family again, away from her home. She'd fought too hard for that to happen, too much had happened these past few days. She'd suffered through this for that.  
So she lied.  
She snapped her own heart in two and lied. Her tears weren't just for her mother, or herself, to for the lie she had to tell. She took a deep breath and began.  
"I was walking home from school," such a normal sentence. "When a man came up behind me." She felt more than heard her mother stop taking in her next breath as she said it.  
"I... I couldn't see him." Truth. At least, so far. "He gripped me from behind, pulling my hands together and behind my back."  
She knew the evidence of that were on her, the twin blue bruises she had on either wrist.  
"He held me there as he then took my phone. He ran, sprinting off again, leaving me there…"  
Lies, but her tears weren't faked. As she spoke she thought back to those terrible moments, to what had actually happened. Pushing her into the car…  
"So I turned and ran after him. It was stupid I know. It was just a phone. But I did anyway.  
I somehow managed to catch up to him, I grabbed his jacket but he suddenly slammed his elbow back into my face. Breaking my noise."  
Penny's fist coming towards her face without her seeing it, without being able to brace herself. Her noise stung to think about it.  
"I fell and couldn't get back up again."  
She said sobbing, remembering the hopelessness she'd felt trapped in that car, tied to that chair…  
"I watched him run and I couldn't do anything. The pain in my foot was too much. I lay there. I…I don't know how long. I finally managed to crawl to the wall and push myself upright. And that's when Jughead found me."  
The sound of his voice, when he pulled the trigger…  
"He'd been looking for me everywhere and brought me straight to the hospital. Fp came too. Then Jughead said I should call you. If… If I wanted to. But I couldn't reach you…"  
Her mother was crying too and gripping her daughter's hand tightly.  
"I'm so sorry Jellybean. I didn't have my phone, but Kath came to find me. I'm so sorry any of this happened to you."  
So was Jellybean. For those horrible lies, for the truth that was even worse. Gladys pulled her daughter to her chest and Jellybean gripped her tightly as her mother stroked the length of Jellybean's thick hair.  
"I'm sorry I made you run away."  
She whispered and that was the truth that really shattered Jellybean's heart. Had her mother known the truth, she would have blamed Fp, but with this lie, she blamed herself…For everything.  
"Mom, none of this is your fault. I wanted to see my family."  
"I should have been there. I should have come with you."  
Jellybean shook her head, not pulling away.  
"I had to do it myself, face my family. You couldn't have helped with that."  
Truth. How different everything would have been has she been there.  
"Once your foot is healed, and you feel better we should go home. Forget all about this,"  
She whispered softly and Jellybean felt a pang in her chest at her words. How she still didn't understand…Her mother refused to understand, to admit that Toledo wasn't home, wasn't where Jellybean wanted to go back to.  
"I'm sorry mom, I need to stay, I can't just abandon my family."  
Gladys stayed quiet for a long time before saying,  
"I know child but it's safer, it's what best."  
"No, it's not mom,"  
Jellybean responded just as quietly, trying to make her understand. Gladys opened her mouth to say something, but Jellybean read the words before she spoke them. New the tone her mother would say them in. Like she was a small child that needed a lesson from her mother. But she wasn't a small child anymore. She gripped the hand that strokes her head and stopped it, her grip soft but it was enough.  
"Forsythia!"  
Her mother said in shock.  
"I'm not a small child anymore." She said, "And I'm not going back, not just yet. I need to fix things here first. Please help me, we're so close but we need your consent. So I can live here with Jughead and Fp."  
"No,"  
"Mom, let go. This isn't your decision, it's mine. I know you want what's best for me but that isn't going back to Toledo. I love Jughead and I got to know Fp again, I can't put that all behind me."  
"Jellybean, I can't stand to be in this place…"  
"And you don't have to either! All I'm asking for is your consent so I can spend half the time with you in Toledo and the other half here in Riverdale. I would never force you to live here again because of me."  
"You can't live with your father!"  
"Mom, he's not the man you left behind, he gave up his jacket for me! He loves me."  
"He left his son to become a Serpent …”   
“And you left him completely,”  
She regretted the words as soon as she said them.  
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”  
She tried to take it but Gladys moved over it as if she never had.  
“I won't let anything like that happen to you,"  
"That was Jughead's choice, no one else's."  
If she'd known the truth...She'd know him being a Serpent was the only thing that got her out of that hellhole.  
"Just like staying here is mine,"  
She finished and her mother looked so sad, so worn she almost felt bad for standing her ground, but she knew it was what she wanted.  
Her mother silently nodded, the only defeat she'd show. She was going to do it. She was going to help her.  
But there was just one more thing Jellybean needed to know…  
"Mom, did dad ever hurt you?"  
She looked away, tears streaming down her face as she turned back to her daughter.  
"Yes, in so many ways. He broke my heart and... He came so close to hitting you, your brother and me. I managed to prevent him every day, to convince him to put the bottle down, day after day. To calm him every time he got mad. It was exhausting and every time I looked at him I knew it would be the same thing every day, it was killing me. Having to take care of the three of you. I couldn't do it anymore..."  
"I'm sorry mom,"  
There was nothing else she could say. It didn't matter whether her father had hit her, it would have destroyed her anyway. Having to live every day with that fear. The fear of a blow.  
"I'm sorry you had to think of that again,"  
She said and her mother nodded.  
"It's why I don't want to be here…"  
"I understand…"  
She stroked her daughter’s hair again and she didn't pull away.  
"You're so strong. You're lying here, in the hospital and you're still fighting for what you want. I… I'll help you."  
Her mother said and Jellybean sighed in relief before remembering…  
"But what will happen to you? You said…"  
"I know what I said sweetie and I thought about it and maybe… Maybe it's about time I face what I've done. Take on the consequences of my secret. It is one of the reasons we left. At least, left when we did."  
"What do you mean?"  
Jellybean asked, sitting up straighter in the bed.  
"I… I don't know whether I should tell you, I don't want that kind of weight on your shoulder."  
"Mom, if it means I should stay here or not, it's worth hearing."  
Her mother smiled and nodded but didn't start speaking just yet. She gently stroked her hand over Jellybean's cheek.  
"I'll tell you everything, but not just yet. I think I need to speak with your father first."  
"Why?"  
"Get some rest Jellybean, or if you want I can call Kath in."  
Jellybean knew better to insist so she only nodded,  
"Ok."  
Her mother got up to leave when she stopped, as if suddenly remembering something.  
"I'm glad, about you and Kath. I'm happy you have each other. I'm sorry I froze when I saw you two...I just, well I guess I imagined you would look terrible and seeing you sitting there kissing Kath was quite the opposite."  
She said smiling and Jellybean reddened.  
"About that mom...Sorry, it happened just as I left and I didn't know how to tell you..."  
She leant over to place a kiss on her forehead.  
"That's okay Jellybean, you don't need to explain yourself. I'm happy for you, I hope you figure things out for yourself. And if you ever need any help, I'm right there."  
Her mother said and Jellybean knew she would be.  
"Thanks mom. Thank you for understanding."  
Her mother smiled again before pulling away, heading out the door. She closed it softly behind her, no doubt heading off to get Kath but as Jellybean watched her go, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She let them fall, giving in to the tug of sleep.

Kath half ran down the hall. Gladys had come to tell her she could see Kath now and she'd thanked the woman before going straight to Jellybean's room. She'd seen the look Gladys had given Fp and knew the two of them had a lot to figure out and her being there wasn't going to help. Her father seemed to get the same idea and headed off to find some coffee or a vending machine. He'd introduced himself to Fp earlier, and Alice, but otherwise hadn't spoken a word. Kath got to Jellybean's room and didn't bother knocking before opening it softly. She walked inside, expecting to see Jellybean sitting up, waiting for her but instead she found her fast asleep. But Kath wasn't disappointed. She smiled, glad the poor girl could get some sleep. So she pulled up the chair gently, as quietly as she could, placing it beside Jellybean's bed. She crossed her arms and placed them on the small space left on the bed, her head resting on her arms. She yawned and thought she might just be joining Jellybean soon. She looked up at the girl, peaceful, angelic and prayed to a God she hoped was listening that everything would be alright.


	33. A mother's secret

Gladys watched Kath running down the hall and almost wished she could join her, just run, run away. But instead, she turned to her unofficial ex-husband. He stood as her gaze rested on him and she found themselves walking towards each other. Gladys was surprised to see the man almost seemed... Smaller without his jacket.  
She was about to start speaking before stopping herself. It would be best for both of them if they were sitting down for this. She sat the nearest chair and he followed suit, sitting in the seat beside her. He sat so near it almost unnerved her. That after all this time and distance he was seating half a chair's distance from her. She didn't think about it for long and turned to him to speak.  
"Thank you, for making Jellybean feel loved and welcomed,"  
She found herself saying, not having planned those words. But they were genuine. She realised now that Jellybean could have come here only to find the family she'd left behind wanted nothing to do with her. That Fp was still a drunk and Jughead might even have been jealous of Jellybean. For getting away, for her mother taking her. Yet neither of them had been that.  
Her ex-husband nodded once,  
"Thank you for raising such a wonderful girl,"  
He said with a smile, such a bright light in his eyes. One she hadn't known for so long. One she remembered, the rare times she did see it, was when he looked at his children.  
"I'm sorry for...For having taken her away from you,"  
Surprise flashed in Fp's eyes but he didn't say anything as he let her explain.  
"I never...wanted you to never get to know your daughter, I didn't want that for either of you. I just wanted to protect her and...And I didn't...I didn't want to be alone. I admit that. I didn't want to have to live on alone and leave my little girl behind. But that wasn't the only reason I left. It...It wasn't just you or Riverdale…"  
Fp looked at her in confusion as he thought of any other possible reasons she could have left. He couldn't think of one. She averted her gaze for a single second, looking down before meeting his fierce, questioning eyes again.  
"I was pregnant."  
She said in a shuddering breath. It coming out of her in one single breath. His eyes widened in shock and surprise and something like understanding. He must have been thinking back to the last thing she'd told him...She wished he would say something.  
"You were pregnant, so you left?"   
He asked, so softly, so carefully. She knew it didn't make any sense to him now, only knowing the half of it. Tears came to her eyes at those memories, those terrible dark memories. Lying on the bathroom floor, surrounded by blood, one hand to her mouth to keep in her sobs, to muffle the sound so Jellybean wouldn't hear, that it wouldn't wake her. So she'd never have to know. The other hand atop her impossibly empty belly.  
"It wasn't yours,"  
She whispered, so softly she could barely hear them herself, and he would have missed it too had he not been waiting for her answer. Realisation and something like horror filled his face as he processed it. He shot to his feet, that horror still on his face. Not horror at her but what had happened…  
He turned his head and took two steps away from her, his back to her. He put his hands on the back of his head as he pieced everything together, as his ex-wife's tears silently slipped from her eyes. He eventually turned to her, his own eyes lined with the silver of his tears caught in the light. Tears for her betrayal, for him being the one to push her away, neglect her, for letting the wonderful woman before him ever go. As she'd said, he'd left her long before she'd left him.  
He'd abandoned his wife, and she'd grown sick of waiting for him to come back, to recover, to be the man he once was, the man she'd fallen in love with, married.  
She couldn't bear seeing that all on his face and looked away.  
"I was going to leave you, I was planning on doing it for weeks...But when I found out I was pregnant and I knew it wasn't yours...I left. I just...I couldn't face the humiliation. And it was beyond time to leave, I already knew that. I got to Toledo, but then, four months later…"  
She sobbed and she thought she saw him flinch at the sound.  
"I…I lost my baby,"  
She faced him again, such immense pain in her eyes. It hit him like a brick in the face but he didn't look away, didn't hide his tears.  
"I....I don't know what it was, what was wrong with me but…"  
She shook her head.  
"And after...After that, I couldn't bear to come back."  
"You don't need to explain yourself. I am so sorry."  
He said. And he meant it with his whole worthless soul. Sorry for pushing her away, for not being there. Sorry she had to look after him, sorry he broke his vows. Sorry she had to raise Jellybean herself. Sorry she was forced to leave her son behind. Sorry they all suffered because of him.  
"I'm so sorry for everything,"  
He said and gently took her hands from where they rested limply on her lap. He moved slowly, given her a chance to pull away if she wanted or needed to. But she didn't and he pulled her to her feet and hugged her tightly. She sobbed harder and he rocked her ever so gently as he held her. There were no strings attached. All he wanted, was to be there for her, for once. To do what he should have done all those years ago.  
"Thanks for telling me," He said softly into her hair. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been. "I'm sorry too," was all she said. But it was enough. More than enough.

Jughead miraculously awoke to the light streaming through the open window the following morning. Or at least, something later than 2 in the morning. It must have been something like 8 by then. He shot up from the bed. Shit. He'd slept through the whole night while Jellybean…  
"Don't worry about it Jug," Came Betty's voice from the doorway. He turned to her in surprise and noticed her standing against the door.  
"What?"  
He asked confused and still a little drowsy from sleep.  
"I checked on her, she's fine. And she's more than fine with the fact that you actually slept well." He let himself fall back into the cushions, "I woke up a while ago and thought I'd let you sleep,"  
She finished and he looked at her gratefully.  
"Thanks, Betty, I really needed that."  
He slid off the bed and pulled all his clothes back on. He finished getting dressed before strolling over to her. She looked at him a little confused, but as he approached his intentions became clear to her, and she smiled. He smiled too and closed the distance between them so they were inches apart. They were both grinning as he then softly brushed his lips against hers. He made to pull away again but she pulled him down again with another kiss.  
"Betty, I'm sure I have awful morning breath,"  
He mumbled and she smiled,  
"I really don't care."  
And kissed him one last time before pulling away.  
He smiled at her before opening the door, reaching behind her.  
"Let's go"  
He said and stepped out, with every intention of going to Jellybean's room when a hand on his wrist stopped him, tugging him back. He turned to Betty in confusion, still inside their hospital room. She pulled a little harder, a sad look on her face. He gave into her demand and let her pull him inside. Even if he felt a kind of itch to get to Jellybean. Once they stood further into the room she stopped but didn't let go of his hand and that sad expression didn't disappear. She looked so sad he has an idea what she was thinking off. He closed the door behind him, his left hand never leaving hers.  
"Are we gonna talk about what happened, those panic attacks?"  
She asked and he nodded, almost embarrassed. In his complete rush and messed up head he'd completely forgotten he owed her an explanation.  
"Yes of course." He said and she nodded, listening.  
"I…I had them a lot as a kid, since my mother and sister left really. Sometimes I'd go for months without having them and it would seem as if I'd just been miraculously cured, but then I could suddenly have more than ten in a day. Some were worse than others."  
Her eyebrows scrunched together in worry, sadness and pity deep in her eyes. He hated seeing that. That pity…. But he kept going.  
"At some point though, they did stop. I guess I finally settled in with my head, made peace with it. But then Jellybean came back and…"  
He stopped, not knowing how to begin explaining, the rush of thoughts, the panicked walls closing in on him, the world falling away beneath his feet. Feet he'd spend years steadying.  
"How many?"  
She whispered softly, stepping closer to him. A rock for him to hold onto in this ocean.  
"Three. Counting the last one,"  
She blinked and that worry and sadness intensified with horror. Horror of what he'd gone through so many times without her ever knowing.  
"Why…Why didn't you tell me?"  
She asked, not accusing but confused.  
"How could I have not noticed; we grew up together."  
She said, more to herself then him. The last thing he wanted was her blaming herself. So he told her. The smallest smile creeping up on his face as he thought back to the memories he was about to share. Memories she was in but were for her from a completely different angle.  
"It was because you and Archie, and being with you was my anchor, as cliché as that sounds. Nothing could reach me then, panic me enough to trigger it, because you were right there. Even being at your houses, normal, warm, welcoming houses that smelled the way all houses should, it calmed me."  
She too had the tiniest smile on her face, wiping some of the sadness away.  
"But sometimes, even then…I'd have a particular bad running in with my father, or a rejected phone call or something. But I managed to hide it, so you never knew."  
"For all these years?"  
Betty asked, not understanding how she could have been so blind.  
"You only never knew Betty, because you were always there."  
"Why didn't you tell me; I could have helped you."  
She said, placing a hand over his heart. He smiled again.  
"You not knowing was what helped me. Never having to doubt whether you were here because you wanted to or because you felt responsible for keeping me from those attacks. Besides, I didn't want you thinking I was even more of a freak."  
She recoiled the slightest bit, pulling her hand back.  
"Is that why you didn't tell me when they came back?"  
She asked, soft to a whisper. He grabbed her hand softly before she could pull it any further away from him.  
"No, oh God no. I just...Didn't want to add to that weight on your shoulder. And the timing never seemed right."  
She nodded and locked her fingers between his.  
"You should know Jughead, that when it comes to you, there's no weight I wouldn't want to carry."  
He smiled and swore if he wasn't already deeply in love with her he would have fallen all over again. Her own smile grew and her worry fell away bit by bit.  
"I know,"  
"Good."  
She smiled before pulling him again, only this time towards the door, back out of the room.  
"Common then, let's go see your sister."  
She said smiling and he wholeheartedly agreed. Each of them feeling light as a feather.  
The left the room when suddenly both their back pockets vibrated. They looked at each other in confusion before each pulling out their individual phones. They looked at the caller before looking back at each other, grimacing. They'd completely forgotten about Veronica and Archie, who were now calling them, probably wondering what on earth they were doing. And why they weren't in school again.  
"Here,"  
Betty said and reached out a hand for Jughead's phone. He handed it to her and she declined the call. He looked at her in confusion but she only nodded her head to Jellybean's room. But he didn't leave just yet.  
"Tell them to bring Zoe too. Zoe Rivers. She's a friend of Jellybean's."  
Betty nodded and he grinned at her gratefully before jogging down the hall.  
Betty didn't bother watching him go as she swiped 'accept' and put the phone to her ear.  
"Hey, Veronica?"  
"Betty, where are you? Are you with Jughead again."  
"Yes...But it's not like that. Is Archie there?"  
"Yes but…"  
"Just...Put me on speaker."  
"Oh, ok."  
Betty waited for a second, waiting for Veronica's response.  
"Alright, you're on speaker. And Archie's here."  
"Ok. Good. Look, um. I don't think I should be telling you everything, that's for Jughead to do but...Well um. Yesterday Jellybean walked home from school by herself and something happened. Jughead found her and she's in the hospital now. She's fine, she only has a broken foot and a bit of a beaten up face but I think Jughead and I are gonna be here for a while…"  
"Oh my God! Are you all alright!?"  
Veronica said.  
"Yeah, yeah, we're alright. Although I'm a little worried for Jughead. Jellybean's mother and her best friend just arrived yesterday night and I don't think everyone's taking that very well. Or have a clue how to take it."  
"Gladys is here? In Riverdale?"  
Archie asked shocked.  
"Yes. And we're all here at the hospital. Including Fp and Alice."  
"Alright, we're coming!"  
Veronica said, breathing harder than before, as if she was running.  
"Wait, before you go. I need you to find Zoe Rivers. She's a friend of Jellybean's."  
Alright, I'll try."  
"Thanks, V,"  
Betty said and closed her eyes in relief. She hadn't known how much she wanted her friend here until now.  
"We'll be there as fast as we can."  
She said and hung up. Betty wasted no time running to Jellybean's room to tell Jughead. In her hurry, she threw the door open without a thought. Three sets of eyes turned to her, two of witch rimming with tears. Jughead and his sister. She looked between them in confusion. She looked to Kath sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, who also looked up at her sadly.  
What was wrong?

Veronica couldn't believe it. She'd called Betty expecting some lame excuse or that she'd taken the day off again with Jughead. Actually, she wasn't completely sure what she'd expected but not this. She could never have imagined anything like this.  
"Quickly!"  
She told Archie, running behind her as she quickly turned the corner. He followed without question, the sound of their feet the only sound echoing off the empty hall's walls. Veronica had long since kicked off her heels and ran on her sock-clad feet, almost slipping on the slick floors. She ran straight for the reception, her best shot at finding Zoe Rivers, whoever she was.  
She was fast, Archie had never before realised how fast she really was. He understood where they were heading and picked up speed, running alongside her. They flung the reception's door open and raced inside. The receptionist looked up at them in shock but she recovered quickly from her surprise and her expression turned angry. Veronica ignored her and bolted for the mike, Archie explained the situation briefly.  
"Look, Mrs, It's an emergency. A student is in the hospital and we need to get there quickly, along with one other student."  
He was cut off as Veronica's voice blasted over him from the speakers.  
"Attention, please! Zoe Rivers please head to the exit as soon as possible. It's a matter of great emergency. I repeat, Zoe Rivers!"  
Veronica said loudly, her hand slammed down on the button projecting her voice all over the school. Archie marvelled at how steady and unwavering her voice had sounded, despite the situation.  
"Let's go!"  
She said, not acknowledging the receptionist again before running out, Archie a step behind her. Leaving the startling teacher.  
They had no idea where or even who Zoe Rivers was. She could be any distance from the exit. They had to beat her there. Luckily the reception was close to the exit. They kept running until finally, they turned down the last hall, the school's final doors at the end of it. They pushed for one final sprint when suddenly a single student appeared. As if she'd appeared from nothing she stepped out into the hall.  
"Zoe Rivers!"  
Veronica called out, praying it was her. The girl turned her head to Veronica down the hall in confusion. But Veronica didn't slow as she came close to passing her.  
"Come with us. Jellybean's in the hospital and we need to get there quickly!"  
The girl's expression turned horror-struck, shocked. But she didn't freeze, she ran with Veronica just as she passed her. Coming up beside her while Archie shot forward from behind them, heading to the doors.  
"What…What happened?"  
Zoe asked, so panicked and hopeless that Veronica knew they had the right person.  
"We don't know. But it all happened yesterday and she's alright, just minor injuries. Her whole family is there with her. Including her mother."  
There was no telling whether this girl knew about that, hell, Veronica hardly knew about it.  
Archie threw the doors open and let the girls run through before closing them again behind him as he ran through behind them. They all ran to the parking lot, Archie's car luckily parked really close to the entrance they'd just run out of. He leaped into the front seat behind the wheel, Veronica jumping in beside him. Archie already had the key in when Zoe jumped in the back seat. Zoe knew full well never to get in a car with strangers. But this was different, this was...This was Jellybean besides, she'd seen Veronica and Archie plenty of times around school, and almost always around Jughead.  
Archie hit the accelerator and they shot backwards quickly, reversing out of the parking lot and unto the road in full speed. But even with their speed, the hospital seemed ages away. Too long, Zoe thought.  
What could have happened?


	34. Never be mine

Jughead ran up to Jellybean's door and knocked quickly. Jellybean's voice called him in and he opened the door, a grin on his face.  
"Hey Jellybean, hey Kath."  
He greeted them, nodding to the girl sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. She smiled back a little, the only greeting he gave him. He turned back to Jellybean and noticed some of the rings had faded from under her eyes, but she still looked so pale.  
"All good?"  
He asked his sister and she smiled, slightly.  
"Yes. Everyone else went home for the night and I actually managed to get some sleep. But...There's something I need to tell you."  
Her tone sad and smile weakly. His own smile fell and he approached her, almost reaching for her.  
"What is it?"  
"Mom, she agreed to help us with the paperwork, she's agreed to the shared custody."  
"But, that's great!"  
Jellybean nodded and he couldn't understand why she wasn't more excited. Was she having second thoughts?  
"Yes, but she also told me something else…"  
She said and he knew he must have missed something important. Something Gladys had said that had upset Jellybean and now she was afraid would hurt him too.  
Jughead didn't have time to brace himself or even sit down as she began.  
"When mom came back this morning she told me why we left when we did. The real reason, or at least a more pressing one. Fp already knew, but she'd only told him yesterday..."  
She stopped herself. She was rambling. She took a deep breath and told her brother everything.  
About the baby, Gladys's secret. Her eyes filled with fresh tears at the thought of what her mother had gone through. On her own. By the shock and horror on Jughead's face as she told the story, she knew he felt the same.  
"I can't believe I didn't realise what had happened...I was right there but I missed it. That kind of pain, how could I not see it?"  
Jellybean asked, more to herself then Jughead, who stood frozen in shock. His mother hadn't left him because she'd wanted to, because she knew she had to...So Fp would never know. But now he did, they all did. But everything was different.  
"I'm so sorry Jellybean."  
He said, pulling himself from his thoughts.  
"I'm sorry she had to go through that. By herself. That was her secret, and I pushed her for it, not even thinking about what that would do to her, what she'd have to relive."  
She said sorrowfully. From the corner of his eyes he saw Kath's head dip, his own heart throbbing.  
"But no one else has to know," he promised. "We'll keep her secret; we'll make sure it doesn't have to come out. Only the people she wants them to know will know."  
He couldn't do much about this, but he could do that. Jellybean nodded, even when her face remained grave.  
"Of course we will,"  
"I…" Kath began and the siblings turned to her. She slowly stood and made her way to Jellybean's side, opposite Jughead as she spoke. "I know…I know this is terrible to hear but that she even told you…Well, maybe not you." She said, directed at Jellybean. "But Fp…It might mean she's started to make peace with it. I'm sure it still hurts like hell. It might always but maybe…Maybe she stopped blaming herself for it. Maybe she's finally cutting herself some slack."  
She said carefully but Jughead could tell it helped Jellybean. She might not fully believe it, but it still sank in. He was grateful Jellybean had someone else there for her, not just blood. And Kath was great. He could see why she liked her and he knew they made a great couple.  
He meant to say something himself, all though he had no idea what, when the door opened. He couldn't see but he had a good idea of who it would be. He turned his head just as Kath and Jellybean did and sure enough, there stood Betty. She looked at all their sad faces in confusion but didn't ask.  
"Jughead," She said instead, swallowing the question on the end of her tongue. "I talked to Archie and Veronica, they're coming."  
He nodded in thanks and she turned to Jellybean,  
"And so is Zoe."  
"Zoe?" Jellybean asked in amazement, her eyes flashing in pleasant surprise and Betty nodded,  
"Yes, but I can't promise she'll be here a hundred percent. I asked Veronica and Archie to find her but I don't know if they did."  
"Thank you, I can't believe you thought of that!"  
Jellybean said smiling, then frowned at her words.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."  
Betty smiled too and shook her head.  
"That's alright. You've got your brother to thank for that."  
She made to turn to him but he was watching Kath.  
He'd happened to look to Kath when Betty had mentioned Zoe and noticed the flash of jealousy in her eyes. Jealousy at the delight on Jellybean's face, so short after such tragedy. She'd quickly averted her gaze so no one, especially Jellybean would see it, but Jughead had.  
But he knew he was not one to judge. He'd forgiven Betty. but he and Sweet Pea…That wasn't over just yet.  
Had he been too hasty in asking Zoe here? He hadn't even asked Jellybean whether she even wanted her here. And he didn't want it getting in the middle of something.  
But he smiled anyway.

Finally, they had arrived. Archie parked his car to a screeching halt and they all got out, crossing the street before running to the entrance. They opened the doors and ran in as one, heading for the reception. The receptionist didn't even look surprised to see three teenagers running into a hospital at 8 in the morning.  
But just before they reached it a voice stopped them in their tracks. They each turned their heads to the voice.  
"Archie, Veronica, you're here."  
Zoe had no idea who the man who had said it was but Archie and Veronica clearly did. Veronica stayed where she was but Archie approached the man.  
"Hello Mr. Jones, how are you?"  
The man shook his shoulders.  
"Been better. But I'm glad you're here. Jughead would appreciate it."  
Archie nodded.  
"Is she alright?"  
Just as he said it he looked over the man's shoulder where a woman stood. She'd slowly risen from the chair and now looked at Archie with a soft smile.  
"Hello, Archie,"  
She said and Archie froze, completely stunned. He couldn't believe it. The woman he'd known so briefly he hardly remembered her but was such a big part of Jughead's life was here.  
"Gladys…"  
He said in amazement, covering his bitterness. She smiled at him sadly and he looked back to Fp, he was looking at him almost expectantly, as If waiting to see what he'd do. Archie was amazed to see the two of them in a room together, not fighting, not arguing, after everything.  
He'd never seen Gladys and Fp together unhappily, though he knew it must have been that way a lot. He'd never even seen Fp as a Serpent before this year. Jughead, he realised, must have made sure it would be that way.  
"Nice to see you back,"  
He said with a tight smile, looking at her again. She nodded and he wasn't sure what it meant. It wasn't his place to be angry, to be bitter, to accuse.  
He walked away instead, back to the reception. He glanced to Fp as he passed him and saw something like understanding and respect in his heavy gaze. He looked away again and joined Zoe and Veronica where they were waiting for him. He reached them just as Veronica began to talk to the receptionist.  
"Hello, we're here…"  
"Let me guess, Jellybean Jones?"  
The woman said with a smile, causing Veronica to blink in shock. The three of them looked between each other in surprise but nodded.  
"Names please."  
She demanded more than asked. They each gave them and once she typed them in she nodded.  
"Just down here, room 27."  
They each said their thanks and headed for the door. Veronica and Archie let Zoe run ahead, but she didn't even notice. She didn't know what the appropriate way of entering a hospital room was so she knocked, her heart racing in her chest, her foot tapping the floor furiously.  
Oh God, what would she look like?  
She couldn't even bring herself to imagine Jellybean's injuries. She heard a voice from inside calling her in so she went, Archie and Veronica right behind. She was surprised to see the room full of people, well four. But because of how small it was it seemed like more. She looked to Jellybean and held in her sigh of relief, she looked alright. Archie and Veronica had told her a bit more of the little Betty had told them on the way here, and she did indeed look alright.  
Jellybean smiled as Zoe entered and Zoe let out her sigh of relief.  
"You're okay."  
She exclaimed and Jellybean nodded. Archie and Veronica stepped around her and she realised she'd just frozen, blocking the entrance. She stood to the side, embarrassed and watched as Archie gave Jughead a hug and Veronica did the same for Betty before they switched and the four of them came together.  
She smiled at that. That Archie and Veronica had come running, literally sprinting because their friend's sister had been hurt. They'd even bothered picking up her. But she also noticed the other person in the room. Standing at the other side of the bed, looking at everyone in confusion stood a brunette, about her's and Jellybean's age. Zoe's gaze fell to her hands. It was discrete but she saw it. In the stranger's hand was Jellybean's hand, her thumb making smooth circles over her skin. Zoe averted her gaze quickly and snatched her eyes up to Kath's. She smiled and stepped forward, closer to Jellybean and the stranger.  
"Hey, I'm Zoe," She introduced herself with a smile, Kath returned it effortlessly and nodded to Zoe.  
"Hey. I'm Kath,"  
"She came with my mom from Toledo."  
Jellybean explained, smiling between them.  
"And Kath, this is Zoe, she knew one of my friends when I lived here in Riverdale and she's become a good friend of mine too."  
Kath and Zoe weren't sure what to say. But luckily didn't have to.  
The door opened again and Zoe wondered whether Jellybean was expecting any more people, the room was completely cramped full as it was.  
But instead, a nurse walked in.  
He blinked in surprise at the number of people in the room.  
"Uhhh." He said unsurely before catching himself.  
"Excuse me but the patient needs her treatment,"  
He said with a little bit of a stutter. And had the situation been any different Zoe might have smiled at Jughead and Jellybean's identical expressions. A deep glare.  
"My name's Jellybean,"  
She said and he reddened in embarrassment. New to this, obviously.  
"Sorry… Jellybean,"  
He said, after a pause, finding the name as odd as the next person.  
So the six of them left the room, each bidding their goodbye and wishing her better health before heading out. Kath was the last to leave. Zoe left just after Jughead did, but as she walked through the door she glanced over her shoulder just as Kath leant down to give Jellybean a soft kiss. She looked away again, her heart aching for a split second. She ignored the feeling and kept walking. She followed everyone into the hallway when she heard the door click behind her as Kath left Jellybean's room too.  
There was no denying it.  
Kath and Jellybean really were together and Jellybean had never been interested in her. And never would be.

Jughead walked out of the hospital room still scowling. His sister wasn't just some patient. They all headed to the waiting room and met up with Gladys and Fp again. He was happy Archie and Veronica were here, even if it was mostly so he could avoid his father and mother. He had to face her, face them, he knew that, but he wasn't ready yet. He needed a minute. He stayed at the end of the hall and Betty must have noticed because he heard her footsteps and then her tender hands were pulling his chin up, pulling his face up to her's.  
"Do you need something Juggy?"  
She asked and he shook his head.  
"No," He said, his voice close to a croak, "I just need a minute."  
She nodded in understanding and he kissed her on the cheek before pulling away and walking back down the hall he'd come from. She let him go, watching after him until he turned around, his back to her.  
"It's going to be okay Betty,"  
Veronica said, coming up beside her, putting her arms around her and leaning her head on her best friend's shoulder.  
"I wonder what Jellybean told him,"  
"What do you mean?"  
Veronica asked in confusion, looking up to her friend. But Betty just kept staring ahead.  
"When I came in after I called you, he was standing there, both of them close to tears. She must have told him something."  
"He'll be alright B, whatever it is, he'll be alright,"  
She nodded and turned away again.  
Jughead wasn't sure where he was going, he just wandered, going down hall after hall. He felt like he was going in circles, they all looked exactly the same apart from the people and the room numbers. It wasn't very busy but there were some people.  
He kept walking, his mid elsewhere when he came across a vending machine. He pulled out the little cash he had on him and walked towards it. The one in the waiting room was out of service and he thought everyone might appreciate a snack. He punched in the numbers for a snicker bar and put in the coin when he heard footsteps behind him. He dismissed it as any other passing person when he heard his voice.  
"Hey, Jughead,"  
He whipped his head round just as his snicker came clattering down. And sure enough, there stood Sweet Pea. Jughead's jaw clenched as the Serpent approached him.  
Sweet Pea did his best to keep in his wince at the look on Jughead's face. He reached his fellow Serpent, standing just before him and began his long, impossibly difficult explanation.  
"Jughead I need to tell you something, I'm so sorry, I…"  
He didn't get any further. Jughead's fist came at him so fast he had no time to dodge or even anticipate the blow properly. He hit Sweet Pea so hard, his anger rushing out of him in one swoop that his knuckles burned and Sweet Pea's head shot back. He lost his balance and stumbled a step back, Jughead didn't think about it, he stepped forward a step and punched him again, his left fist going right into Sweet Pea's gut. The air whooshed out him with a gasp and Jughead kicked him in the leg so Sweet Pea fell to his knees. But Sweep Pea collapsed almost immediately, falling on his side as Jughead stood over him, breathing heavily.  
He's liked to have pretended this was all for Betty. For what Sweet Pea had done to him, but he knew it was a lie. He'd needed an outlet, somewhere to put his anger and that had been Sweet Pea. He almost felt sorry for it, but he didn't let him reach him. He flared up that anger again as Sweet Pea managed to suck air back into his lungs and gasped, sitting up. Jughead stared down at him. The Serpent swore.  
"Shit. The fuck man?!"  
But before Jughead could bite his response, tell Sweet Pea all he's done to deserve it. Sweet Pea managed to push the anger down, something Jughead couldn't. He was beyond surprised the moody Serpent before him could do that.  
He scrambled to his feet, his pride not bruised. Jughead hadn't aimed when he'd punched and now saw he'd hit Sweet Pea right in the jaw, blood visible through his teeth.  
"Look, I'm sorry about Betty. I guess she's told you. And I don't blame her for that. I'm sorry for the trouble I landed her in... And, I'm sorry for telling her about how I feel. I shouldn't have."  
Jughead couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. Did he even know the man standing before him? The Serpent he thought he knew would never have apologised for anything. He really had no idea…  
"And…I'm sorry for what I told you."  
He finished and took out an envelope from his pocket, handing it to Jughead. He took it automatically, at a loss for words.  
Jughead ran his hand through his hair hopelessly.  
"I punch you and you still apologise?"  
He asked in shock and Sweet Pea nodded.  
"I betrayed you and I'm sorry."  
Jughead shook his head in utter shock.  
"I'm sorry too," He said.  
"I'm sorry I just punched you. I wasn't even so much for that…" He said, holding up the letter. "I was taking my anger out on you. I was jealous."  
Sweet Pea shook his head,  
"It's alright."  
Jughead looked at him with a new found respect. A pause grew between them. Jughead lay his hand on his friend's shoulder.  
"You're one of the best Serpents, you know that?"  
He asked, smiling slightly. Sweet Pea looked at him in shock.  
"What, really? After all this…"  
"You're a good guy. You did something wrong and apologised. You took responsibility for it. You let Betty use your bike too. Thanks for that man."  
Sweet Pea crossed his arm over and laid his hand on top of Jughead's and grinned, or at least something between a smirk and a grin.  
"Thanks, Jones."  
"Of course…Chase"  
He added after a pause, pulling away as he managing to keep in his smile. Sweet Pea looked up at him in shock.  
"How did you…"  
Jughead laughed,  
"That was more of a guess than anything else. I thought I heard Toni mention it once, but I wasn't sure. She said something like, 'He's definitely a Chase.' Seems I was right."  
Sweet Pea didn't look so happy.  
"Don't worry I won't tell anybody."  
Jughead said smiling and Sweet Pea frowned at him.  
"Sure."  
He said, knowing Jughead would take any opportunity to use it against him.  
They got some snacks for everyone from the vending machine and for the first time in a long time Jughead and Sweet Pea walked side by side, heading back to the waiting room.

Everyone looked up at them in surprise when they entered. No one had even known Sweet Pea was here and Betty especially couldn't believe they were walking side by side. But as they came closer she noticed the bruise on Sweet Pea's jaw, one that hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him. So unless he'd gotten it before he got to the hospital, Jughead must have…  
She walked up to meet them and they stopped, standing just a little outside the waiting room so they could talk in private.  
"What happened to your face?"  
Betty said in way of greeting, looking at him in shock. Sweet Pea touched it tenderly, as if forgetting it was there but didn't answer. Betty looked at Jughead and he looked at her apologetically.  
"I'm sorry Betty, I lost my temper."  
He said ashamed but she still stared at him in shock and anger.  
"You punched him in the face?!"  
She said, though she didn't raise her voice.  
"Betty, it's okay…"  
Sweet Pea began but she shook her head,  
"No, it's not. This is definitely not fine. You can't just punch someone in the face!"  
"I know," Jughead whispered and her anger turned to confusion, "I shouldn't have done it,"  
She looked between the two of them in confusion and noticed there were no cold looks or glares. He genuinely was sorry and Sweet Pea had forgiven him.  
"Good,"  
She said, still a little confused and changed the subject to more important matters.  
"I got another letter,"  
Sweet Pea looked at her in shock and she pulled out a carefully folded letter that looked like it had been crumpled up from her pocket and handed it to him. He examined it as Jughead handed Betty back the old one. She was surprised to see it in his hands.  
"Who could be sending those letters?"  
Sweet Pea asked as he read it, knowing no one would have an answer.  
"We don't know. And we don't know how to find out either. The only way would be to somehow track the letter back to the owner or catch the person delivering them."  
"And it's typed too, no chance of getting a handwriting."  
Jughead added.  
"Do you recognise the writing style?"  
Sweet Pea asked Betty and she shook her head.  
"Yeah, I thought of that too but I don't. I don't know enough people and how they write and writing styles are easy to change."  
"Do we even know their motive?"  
"Shit, you're right, we don't."  
Jughead said hopelessly.  
"They want me to do something and they have at least a part of the paper. And somehow they know all about me and Sweet Pea. That's all we know for sure, they could be either South or Northsider."  
Betty said and Sweet Pea nodded.  
"But what did they mean by 'I can't get you out of it'?"  
Sweet Pea asked in confusion and the questions just kept piling up.  
They all nodded and thought for a second before Veronica approached them.  
"Hey, guys, what's up?"  
She asked concerned, seeing their frowning faces. The boys let Betty answer, it was her secret to share.  
"It's nothing, we're just worried for Jellybean,"  
Betty said, hating to use Jellybean's suffering like that. But Veronica didn't ask further.  
"You know her?"  
Veronica asked Sweet Pea suspiciously. He glared at her,  
"And you do?"  
He countered fatly and she glared right back before turning around and walking away.  
"You're not going to tell her the truth?"  
Jughead asked once she was out of earshot. Betty shook her head, looking guilty.  
"As much as I hate it, a secret becomes harder to keep with more people involved and if we want to catch the person writing these threats we need to make sure they don't know we're on to them."  
Sweet Pea and Jughead nodded. Looked like it was going to be just the three of them then.  
But it did look rather odd, the three of them standing there whispering among themselves and frowning. Betty walked back with Veronica to where Archie, Kath and Zoe were sitting and Sweet Pea began distributing the snacks they'd bought from the vending machine. Witch left Jughead…  
He swept his gaze over the room and found her sitting next to Alice, the two woman in deep discussion. He took a deep breath before he approached them. Alice looking like she was consoling his mother and he really didn't want to interrupt, but if he didn't do it now, he might just lose his nerves. He took another deep breath and took the last steps towards them. Gladys looked up as she heard or sensed his approach but didn't quite meet his gaze. Alice must have noticed his lost gaze and whispered a few last words to Gladys before standing up and leaving, giving Jughead a comforting and supportive pat on the back as she walked past him.  
This was it, he realised.  
He crossed the rest of the distance and sat down beside her. She whipped away invisible tears beneath her eyes before facing him. He smiled at her, despite everything. And even though her eyes were heavy with sadness, regret, the weight of being back in Riverdale, and a whole load of emotions Jughead couldn't decipher, she smiled back.


	35. Wrong call

They were all in the waiting room, sitting, chatting, eating, leaning against the wall, just keeping themselves busy when a nurse stepped forward and cleared her throat. All nine of them turned their heads as she began to speak.  
"Excuse me. I'm afraid visiting hours are closed, Jellybean needs her rest and I think it would be best if you all returned home and we notify you if anything changes."  
Everyone nodded and began packing their things together except for Gladys and Fp who requested to see the doctor to ask how Jellybean was doing.  
Betty spoke to Veronica standing beside her as she bent down to pick up her bag.  
"I guess we go back to school then?"  
Veronica shrugged,  
"Yeah, there's not much else we can do. And I don't think we'll be any help here."  
She said and Betty agreed. They didn't wait for the rest and headed outside, each appreciating the fresh air. Archie decided he would wait for Jughead. The boy sat in one of the waiting room chairs, right next to where Gladys had sat not long ago. He sat with his hands in his head, obviously going over his conversation with Gladys. Archie wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, only Jughead knew what Gladys had told him. So he didn't interrupt. But if his friend needed him he was right there.  
He couldn't believe how much his friend had gone through and could only hope It was worth it. That Jellybean would stay, that everything would be figured out, that he and his family would be happy in the end. They all deserved it. Jughead more than anything. He wanted to ask if he could help with anything, but he wasn't sure how, and whether this was the right time. So he said nothing. And he waited as Jughead sat and thought.

Sweet Pea hadn't left either. He was leaning against the wall and waiting for the right moment. The right moment to slip away unnoticed. He was good at that, it was like a feeling he got, when he knew no one was watching and no one would notice.  
Being a Serpent he got a few glances from the seven other people in the waiting room, excluding Archie and Jughead. A man with a newspaper glanced up from his paper to him every other minute, a woman holding flowers moved away from him, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. Three children straight up stared at him and the nurses and receptionist that were around kept a close eye on him. But he kept completely still, not saying anything or moving a muscle, looking down at his feet. And gradually the man stopped looking up, the woman left and the children grew bored, playing with Lego instead. The nurses minded their own business, paying attention to their work. And were nowhere near room 27.  
So finally he moved, completely unnoticed, completely silent. He knew that at some point they'd start looking at the spot where he'd stood, feeling the change and suddenly notice his absent. But by then he'd already be long gone.  
He moved down the hall silently and with direction and confidence. He kept walking, passed all the doors, the numbers zapping past in the corner of his eye.  
23,24, 25, 26.  
He abruptly turned and grabbed for the handle for room 27, listing for the sound of voices but heard nothing. He opened the door without knocking, knocking meant attracting attention. He walked in slowly and closed the door behind him.

Jughead was completely lost. The conversation he'd had with his mother played like a looped record in his head.  
"Hey," He'd said and took the seat Alice had just left beside her.  
"Hello Jughead," She said and a lump formed in his throat as he thought of what he was about to say. Of what he wanted to say but couldn't.  
"I'm sorry about what happened to you. All of it. Even living with dad… Jellybean told me and thanks for letting her tell me."  
She nodded with pursed lips, her eyes so incredibly sad Jughead was almost brought back to the night she left, when those same eyes looked at him the last time. But he was here now, in the present.  
"I would have told you myself and I'm sorry…I was scared. I couldn't face…"  
She couldn't get it out and Jughead didn't blame her.  
"Thank you for understanding."  
She finally said and he realised she hadn't expected him too. She'd thought he would hate her for it…  
"Of course I understand. I get it now…Why you left when you did."  
He said softly but she shook her head.  
"Jughead I am so sorry; you have no idea how much I regret this. Leaving you."  
And those were it. The words he'd waited half his life to hear. Wanted to hear from the moment he realised she'd left. He couldn't believe it, he didn't let himself believe it. But she'd said it. He didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say.  
He could say it was alright, but it wasn't. He could say he'd forgiven her, but he hadn't. Even after hearing her say it, he couldn't forgive her. Even after all, she'd gone through too. He couldn't bear to lie. He wasn't as strong as Jellybean.  
"Thank you for saving her."  
Gladys said, taking him by surprise. But he only nodded, even though she only knew half of how much he'd actually done. But he doubted she'd be so nice to him had she known what really happened. Knowing that broke a piece in him.  
"Yes of course…And," He hesitated. Did he mean what he was about to say? He wasn't a hundred percent sure.  
"Thank you for getting her out, giving her something better… Even if it meant leaving me behind."  
He said and tears sprung to her eyes. He realised he really did mean it. He didn't want to imagine Jellybean having to grow up as he had. What would have happened had their placed switched?  
"I'm glad you think so," She said, her tears falling, "I can't."  
She whispered and he again felt the dying need to give her a hug. But he couldn't. And wouldn't. He couldn't bear her not wanting his comfort, the comfort he wanted from her. He couldn't bear her rejecting him again. Pushing him away.  
"I'm…Despite everything, I'm glad Jellybean ran away,"  
She said and while he couldn't believe it, he could tell she meant it.  
And they'd continued talking in hushed voices. He could tell guilt and memories were eating her alive but she managed. And so did he. They talked about the last years and what they had meant for them. Jughead told her everything about Betty and Gladys everything about her painting and Jellybean. They even managed to laugh over certain things. And until the nurse told everyone to go home, the two of them were in their own little bubble, getting to know each other and figuring everything out. He couldn't describe it. Some of it came with ease, other things felt like having to speak across an ocean of feelings and complications.  
And as she walked away he wished he could have taken his first words to her back. He wished he could call her mom.

Sweet Pea looked up to find Jellybean looking at him in utter shock.  
"Sweet Pea?!"  
She asked and he smiled.  
"Hey Jellybean."  
Her shocked expression didn't falter,  
"What are you doing here?"  
She asked, but didn't seem unhappy to see him.  
"I was here for Jughead and Betty and thought I'd pop in to see how you were."  
"Why?"  
"Why not?"  
He asked jokingly but she looked at him seriously.  
"No, seriously, why?"  
She asked and he shrugged.  
"I don't know. You're Jughead's sister I guess and besides, I was babysitting you the other day and you stole my bike and…"  
She winched.  
"I'm really sorry about that, I hadn't known it was yours and then…"  
He stopped her by raising a hand.  
"It's alright Jellybean, I actually got something good out of it."  
Jellybean looked confused but didn't ask any further.  
"I also wanted to apologise for what I said to you when we first met. About you being a Serpent Princess, I didn't want you and Jughead getting into a fight."  
She nodded and suddenly wondered how he knew about their argument. Maybe he was just good at reading people.  
"Thanks for that Sweet Pea. And I'm great, thanks for asking,"  
She said and he nodded his head in acceptance to her thanks. He opened his mouth to say something else when a knock came from behind the door, causing them both to jump. Jellybean and Sweet Pea shared a panicked look, what were they going to do? Jellybean thought fast and gestured to the other side of the bed. There wasn't enough place for Sweet Pea to get under the bed, but this way he was out of sight.  
"Come in,"  
Jellybean said as calmly as possible as he followed her instructions and ran over to the other side of the room, laying on the floor behind the bed, keeping as low as possible. Not a moment too late either, as just then the door opened. All Sweet Pea could see from under the bed was two pair of boots, but it was enough. He knew it was Fp.  
He moved further into the room and greeted Jellybean as he pulled in the chair beside her bed.  
"Hey, dad,"  
She responded and they both waited to see what Fp came to say.  
"Jellybean, I just came to tell you something…"  
Sweet Pea couldn't tell whether it was bad or good news but he hoped for the second.  
"Jughead and the rest are going to go to school now. I'm sorry they couldn't come to say goodbye. Gladys will stay in a hotel room, Kath too I think. Gladys will make some phone calls and maybe even visit Mr. Whitman today."  
Sweet Pea had no idea who that was, but Fp sounded hopeful so it must be good.  
"And I'll return these to him and head for the diner."  
Sweet Pea couldn't see the folder of forms he'd pulled out but Jellybean did and her face lit up in hope. And relief. Finally, they were getting closer.  
"But there was something else I wanted to talk to you about…"  
Neither Jellybean nor Sweet Pea could place his tone but didn't have long to think or worry about it.  
"I did it Jellybean. With the money I collected and spared. We have enough for a house. A good, proper house, white fence and all."  
Sweet Pea's face broke in a surprised grin. Jellybean literally shrieked and threw her arms around him. He smiled in surprise and hugged her back, each of them grinning.  
"Thanks dad, thank you so much."  
She said, near to sobbing.  
"Of course Jellybean, you're very welcome. But we don't have the house just yet. I know I have the money and there's a house for sale, just off the lake but still in town. We'll visit it together as soon as you're out of here okay?"  
She nodded and tears now really did escape her.  
"Thank you so much for all you've done for us. For keeping me here. For wanting me."  
"Of course."  
He said with such emotion in his voice that Sweet Pea had never heard. His grin faltered ever so slightly. He now wished he had his parents more than anything in the world, more than he ever had, or at least since he was a little kid. He wished someone had put in that much effort, time, love and money in for him for once. He shook of the thought and went back to feeling happy for Jellybean. She had everything she deserved. He only needed to wait another year and he'd have a house of his own and might be able to do something with his life. There was nothing to feel sad about.

Jughead finally pulled himself out of his head and stood. He made his way to the exit, sad to have to leave his sister without a proper goodbye. But they both could definitely do with a break from everything. To get the chance to cool off and think over all that's happened. He noticed Archie, minding his own business but obviously still waiting for him. He walked over to his friend and clapped him on the back.  
"Let's go home."  
He said and Archie nodded, starting to walk beside him.  
"You okay?"  
Archie asked hesitantly but needed to know the answer. Jughead looked at him and told the truth.  
"Good. Very good. Only….I always thought if I ever saw my mother again I would have closure. But seeing her again I feel like a million new doors have been blown open."  
Archie nodded in understanding.  
"And is that a good thing?"  
Jughead shrugged and pushed open the hospital's exit door.  
"I don't know yet."  
Jughead and Archie walked over to where Veronica and Betty were waiting, talking to each other is hushed voices. They fell quiet when they approached and Betty moved forward to meet Jughead. She gave him a hug before telling both of them,  
"I called my mom, she's coming to pick us up."  
She turned back to Jughead.  
"Are you sure you're okay going to school now?"  
He nodded and smiled.  
"Yeah, oddly enough I want to."  
Betty understood that. She took his hand and the four of them stood there, just outside the hospital, the air cool and refreshing, waiting for Alice.

Fp left soon after sharing the news and Jellybean was still grinning. She turned around in her bed and said to Sweet Pea, who she couldn't quite see.  
"He's gone!"  
She said, still excited. Sweet Pea stood and grinned back at her.  
"Jellybean, that's amazing!"  
He said and her beaming grin grew.  
"Yes, I can't believe it!"  
She said and he moved around the bed, heading for the door.  
"I'm happy for you." He said, "But you need to get some rest."  
She nodded and he left, looking out carefully before heading out. He didn't want to run into Fp now. He didn't head for the exit but wandered further into the hospital, sure someone would stop him at some point. No one wanted someone like him walking down these halls. Besides, he had school. But in the morning when he'd come to school he'd taken one lesson before walking out. He couldn't bear it, the weight of the envelope and letters he held in his pocket. He couldn't bear checking it every 5 minutes to make sure it was still there, that the words had changed. He couldn't bear not knowing who it was. It could be anyone, the people he talked to every day or a complete stranger. He hated that.  
So he walked out and drove to the hospital. He didn't regret it, even though he was sure he'd get hell for it when he did go back to school. He couldn't bring himself to care.

School was… School. It was frightful how normal it was.  
They all cramped into Archie and Alice's car and drove to school, even Kath. They should have thought a little bit more on what their entrance would look like. All 7 of them walking into the hall at once, Kath a stranger, and Alice a parent, all late. What an odd sight they made to all the students that stood in the hall. With their luck the bell had just rung when they'd entered, meaning every student was out in the hall, or enough that by the next class the whole school would have caught word of their odd arrival. Nothing happened much in Riverdale these days so any events were much talked about.  
Alice brought Kath to the reception to get her a visitor's badge and Betty and the rest made their way to class as smoothly and unnoticeable as possible, which was impossible enough as it was when Cheryl walked up to them.  
"Where on earth have you been?"  
She said, stopping right in front of them. The four of them looked between each other as Cheryl glared at them, her glare as sharp as her red hair. She was livid.  
Betty was the first to speak, her voice hushed as she approached her cousin.  
"Please don't make a big scene of it," She said begging and some of the anger seeped from Cheryl's eyes, replaced by worry.  
"It was an emergency, I promise. Jughead's sister had an accident."  
Cheryl's eyes widened in surprise.  
"Is she okay?"  
"Yes, but we had to check on her."  
"I'm sorry I understand."  
Cheryl said, looking guilty. Archie stepped forward as well.  
"It's okay Cheryl, we really should have called."  
"I'm glad she's okay,"  
Cheryl said and turned on her heels and walked away. Betty winched, her own guilt growing. They should have called her instead of leaving her in the dark. They shouldn't have excluded her like that.  
"I should go and apologise."  
Betty said, already heading that way but Veronica stopped her. She lay a hand on her elbow.  
"I'll do it. You get to class."  
"Are you sure? I..."  
"Yes, I'm sure."  
Veronica said with certainty. She walked passed Betty and ran to catch up with Cheryl. The rest of them decided the last thing left to do would be to go back to class. They all split up and went their separate ways.  
Betty headed into her AP English class, brushing her knuckled softly against the wood. The teacher called her in and she entered.  
The teacher and the rest of the class looked up to her and she stayed standing in the doorway.  
"You're late Cooper, take a seat."  
The teacher said and Betty apologised before taking her usual spot. The teacher continued her lesson and Betty hung on to her every word. She needed something mundane and what she was saying was honestly interesting. Before she knew it the bell rung and she continued the loop of classes and breaks she had known her whole life. As did Archie, Veronica and Jughead.

When Kath had come to Riverdale, she'd never thought she'd actually need to go there. As Alice showed her the way to the reception the elder woman asked her,  
"Are you sure you want to be here? If you want you're welcome to come stay with me for the day. I have a laptop you can use if you'd like. Or I can call your dad.."  
But oddly enough, Kath didn't want that.  
"That's alright thanks."  
She said and Alice nodded, pushing open a door labelled reception.  
The idea of sitting behind a computer all day at a stranger's house didn't click well. And she didn't exactly know what she would do with her father in a hotel room for 5 hours. Kath didn't mind school and she didn't mind people. She could always talk to Zoe, get to know Jellybean's friend, she thought to herself. Funny how Zoe already cared so much for Jellybean when they'd only just met. Not funny, worrying.

Five hours later Betty was home again and sprawled over the sofa, reading a book. She just turned the page when she heard the doorbell ring. She would have loved to let it ring but it might be important and Alice was in the shower. She got up from her comfortable position with a groan and closed her book, laying it down on the table. She walked over to the door lazily and opened it to find Archie standing there.  
She looked at him in surprise. He'd changed since coming back from school and taken a shower too obviously, his red hair darker from being wet. He didn't look very upset so she didn't think there was anything wrong.  
"Hey, Archie, what's up?"  
She asked and he pulled out an envelope from his pocket.  
"Here, I supposed to give this to you."  
He said and Betty's heart stopped. He held out the letter and she did the best she could to keep her hands from shaking as she took it from him.  
She opened it slowly and flipped the letter open. She skimmed her eyes over the letter quickly and knew she'd been right. He or she had written to her again with their first demand. But she kept her face steady as she folded it up again and looked up to Archie.  
"Thanks. Who gave it to you? Who told you to give it to me?"  
She asked as casually as possible, but she could hear the panic tweaking into her voice, her heart raced in her chest. Could she find out who the sender was?  
"Oh, um. Alex did. He gave it to me in last period. I went to look for you but you had already left."  
Alex?  
She searched her brain for the name and came up blank. She must have made a face because he added.  
"He's a musician."  
Oh.  
Alex.  
She remembered now. He was tall, brown haired and blue eyes, strikingly contrasting. He played the saxophone and the flute if she remembered correctly. And she had no way of knowing whether it was him or not. Yet. Unless…  
She suddenly realised something. Whoever the writer was would have known Betty hadn't told Archie and Veronica. Or else Archie would never have accepted it and passed it on…She had to talk to Jughead.  
"Oh yeah, thanks Archie."  
She said, keeping herself calm. He nodded and turned around, jogging down the steps as Betty turned and ran back into the house, closing the door quickly behind her and running up the stairs.  
She bolted into her room and looked around frantically. Why could she never remember where she put her phone? She began hunting for it as her thoughts drove wild. She pushed the cushions of her bed as she tried to make sense of things.  
The sender had to know she hadn't told Archie and Veronica. But she'd only just decided that for herself earlier at the hospital, and the only people she'd told were…  
Jughead and Sweet Pea.  
She finally found her phone and almost wished she hadn't. She hesitated a second before calling Jughead.  
She held the phone to her ear as she began nervously pacing her room, biting her nails.  
"Come on."  
She muttered and a final bleep sounded.  
"Jughead, finally! I've gotten another letter. Archie just dropped it off. Archie! One of two people I just said this morning I wouldn't tell. That can't be a coincidence! The letter has the first demand on it and Archie said he got it from a guy named Alex. But it doesn't make any sense! The only people who knew I wouldn't tell Archie and Veronica were you and Sweet Pea! Jughead, do you think…"  
She hesitated for a second, ending her rambling. Her heart was hammering hard again in her chest and she needed to hear Jughead's voice. Needed him to tell her she was just being stupid, that it was all a coincidence. To tell her what she wanted to believe, that Sweet Pea would never do something like that. Even if it meant that the papers would be safe, he would never…  
But it wasn't Jughead's voice that came over the machine.  
"This isn't Jughead." The voice said and Betty's eyes widened in shock. Oh, God. Oh shit. "It's Veronica."


	36. Lost Boys

"Veronica…I,"  
Betty tried but Veronica had already hung up the phone. And maybe that was for the best anyway, Betty had no idea what she would have said. She pulled her phone down from her ear and dropped it onto the bed before collapsing into it herself. She let herself fall into the soft cushion and covered her eyes with her hands.  
What had she done? How had she managed to screw everything up so badly?  
Jughead walked down the familiar hallway after school. He could have gone home, he could have accepted Alice's offer for a lift, but he hadn't. He'd wanted to stay here a little longer. He headed for the music room where he rarely went anymore. He wasn't a very musical person but he could play a tune or two. He liked playing the piano well enough, but hadn't had a proper lesson since he was eight.  
He entered the music room and was surprised to find there were people inside. He knew the music room was open to everyone but he hadn't expected there to be actually people. There were five of them, one at the piano, one on a guitar, another at a flute, a base and finally a vocalist. They were facing away from him, playing for their audience, the wall. They sounded well enough, but still only a high school band. They'd obviously only just started, the piano playing the introduction. He debated walking out again when he noticed Veronica. Or rather heard her when she sang the first line. He hadn't recognised her from behind and hadn't expected her to be here at all.  
He was frozen to the spot for a second and admitted she sounded good but he didn't think he'd want to stay and watch. He stood in the doorway, debating it when Veronica looked over her shoulder, probably sensing his stare and noticed him. He nodded awkwardly and she didn't stop singing. She only inclined her head, telling him silently to stop standing around and just come in. He obeyed and stepped in, closing the door behind him silently. He walked behind the band but noticed them look between each other nervously. But he didn't say anything, he just walked passed and lent against the wall on the other side of the room. He wasn't in the 'audience' but watched them from the side.  
He had no idea she did this, perform and practice with other people that weren't Archie and Josie. And she certainly didn't perform with this group.  
Jughead listened as the music continued, unbroken by his presence. He enjoyed it a lot and loved how natural it felt, just a few people playing music, not trying to impress anyone or prove they were the best. They finished the song and Jughead clapped. He wasn't one for getting the attention of strangers but the song had sounded really good.  
Veronica smiled at him before turning back to the band.  
"Jughead, I want you to meet Vj on the guitar, Sammy on base, Alex on the flute and Lilly on piano."  
They each in turn smiled or waved at him. He didn't know how to respond so he only nodded to them in turn. He'd seen most of them before, even if only in the hallway.  
"Well, you guys were great."  
Jughead said and meant it.  
"Do you play anything?"  
The girl on the guitar, Vj suddenly asked. she was only making friendly conversation and Jughead could have lied, could have said no, but he didn't want to. He'd come in to play, so he would play.  
"Yeah, piano."  
He said and they all, Veronica included looked at him in shock. Based on his jacket they'd all probably thought he could no nothing but throw knives or something. He didn't care to prove them wrong, he just wanted to play.  
Lilly stood up from behind the piano and stepped away. He moved towards it and felt all the eyes in the room on him, on his jacket. He ignored them and didn't bother sitting, he just came up behind the familiar piano and set his fingers comfortably on the keys, just resting, not pushing into the piano just yet. He lent forward a little and pushed the first finger down. His others followed soon after and he launched into one of his all-time favourite songs. He started with simple chords, but as he remembered more and more of the piece his hands moved faster and more frequent, ticketing the keys to a beautiful tune. He played the first few seconds of the song and once he got comfortable and his finger stopped needed any urging he looked up to Veronica. She didn't understand at first and just kept looking at him shock and know confusion. He raised an eyebrow and her confusion finally fell away and she moved to the mike. She waited for the next line and began singing.  
Nowhere to go and no place to call home.  
He kept playing, not stumbling once and suddenly the guitar joined in. He looked over to her and she was grinning. He could tell she loved her music. She played flawlessly too and then the flute came in and seconds later they were all playing. Lilly pushed herself from off the wall and headed over to the other mike, joining Veronica. Jughead watched her movement from the corner of his eyes but otherwise kept his gaze to the piano. The two girls sang back to back as the music heightened and everyone was playing, grinning from ear to ear.  
My only friend was the man in the moon  
Their voices and the instruments melted together and Jughead kept playing. He sat and his fingers sprang over the piano.  
And even sometimes he would go away, too  
He remembered teaching himself it last year. All those nights here in school with nothing to do but break into the music room through the window and sit at the piano, the only thing that didn't need power. He'd used his phone and remembering the little piano lessons he'd had put the song together.  
Then one night, as I closed my eyes  
He closed his eyes and he was back to a year ago, sitting in the dark with only the light of his dying phone.  
I saw a shadow flying high. He came to me with the sweetest smile. Told me he wanted to talk for awhile.  
He said, "Peter Pan, that's what they call me,  
But there was no Peter Pan, no Neverland. Just him in that room until Archie came, and Betty. Maybe… They were Peter Pan. Maybe Jellybean was.  
I promise that you'll never be lonely, "  
It was a promise no one could keep, but his friends had tried, they were trying. And that's what he wanted for Jellybean. He wanted to be her Peter Pan. To pull her away from the loneliness and bring her to Neverland. But he wasn't Peter Pan.  
and ever since that day. I am a lost boy from Neverland  
Lost. Lost. Lost. Was he lost? Were they all lost? Or were they in Neverland.  
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan  
And when we're bored we play in the woods. Always on the run from Captain Hook  
Always running. That's what Jellybean did, always running. But she wouldn't anymore. She would stop and face Captain hook.  
"Run, run, lost boy, " they say to me  
The voices in her told her to. The horrible things pushed her too.  
Away from all of reality  
Away from all the pain and off to Neverland. But she never found it, she'd just keep running. Until she'd stop and fall down to earth  
Neverland is home to lost boys like me  
But he wasn't lost anymore.  
And lost boys like me are free.  
And she wasn't either.  
Neverland is home to lost boys like me  
Neither was Archie. He'd found his way.  
And lost boys like me are free  
And neither was Betty, she'd broken free.  
And neither was Veronica, who'd found their own path.  
They were all free and far away from Neverland.  
But that was okay.  
The song went on as the voices in Jughead's head grew louder until it all finally stopped and he was surrounded by silence. But he felt his hands couldn't leave the piano, so when all the instruments stopped, it was just him, blinking the keys to a near silent melody.  
Neverland is home to lost boys like me.   
And lost boys like me are free  
He was pulled from his trance by a sudden noise. He hit the wrong key, the sound like a rock in a wave of music. He almost cringed. He looked up and found it wasn't an instrument, it was his phone, his ringtone. Everyone was checking their phones, including Veronica, whose bag was closest to his.  
"Veronica, could you check if it's mine."  
He asked, not wanting to get up, not wanting the moment to be over. Veronica nodded and pulled it out of the front pocket of his bag. She checked the caller Id before looking back to Jughead.  
"It's Betty,"  
"You can answer it."  
He told her without thinking and turned back to the piano. If it was urgent Veronica would tell him, if not Betty would just call him back. But too late he realised his mistake. His head shot up to where Veronica now stood by the wall, his phone to her ear.  
What if it was about the letter?  
He panicked and cursed himself. He should have gotten up. But it was too late now. She wouldn't tell Veronica so he'd have to call Betty back as soon as possible.  
Suddenly he felt very stupid for just sitting there playing the piano. He stood and made his way towards Veronica, but as she turned to him he knew he'd been right. Her face was cold and bitter.  
"This isn't Jughead, it's Veronica."  
She said and hung up. He couldn't believe she had hung up on Betty.  
"Here,"  
She said and handed over the phone, no doubt blaming him too. He was frozen to the spot as she picked up her bag and left, saying goodbye to her band members but ignoring him. He picked up his own bag and ran after her.  
She moved faster than he expected and she was already halfway down the hall by the time he left the music room.  
"Veronica,"  
He said and turned around abruptly.  
"What?"  
"Did Betty say anything…"  
He asked but knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say. She glared at him.  
"She said something about a letter. But she also said you and Sweet Pea, of all people, knew she wouldn't tell me about whatever was going on here."  
"Veronica, Betty didn't want you to know so you wouldn't worry, so you didn't need to be involved and be pulled into this."  
"Know about what? What would Betty possibly hide from me and Archie that she could tell Sweet Pea? How does she even know him?"  
She asked in disgust and he approached her.  
"What did she tell you?"  
"She didn't mean to, but she told me about Archie giving her a new letter."  
His eyes widened in shock, a new letter.  
"And you hung up on her?"  
He asked, wanting to know more. Veronica's face suddenly changed from angry to regretful. But she quickly covered it with anger.  
"Jughead, what's going on? Why are we left out of this?"  
She said angrily, but Jughead couldn't answer her question.  
"I..I'm not sure. It's what she asked. Call her."  
Jughead said and with those words he'd planned to leave, but it didn't feel right. Even if he had to call Betty back and find out what had happened he couldn't leave her like that.  
"I'm sorry."  
He said and turned around but she stopped him.  
"Wait! The letters, what does it mean?"  
She said and he shook his head, turning back to her with a sad expression.  
"Talk to Betty, she'll tell you."  
"Okay,"  
She said, her voice near a whisper but before he could turn around and head home she spoke again.  
"Just tell me, what does Alex have to do with it all?"  
Jughead stared at her in shock and confusion.  
"Alex?"  
Now Veronica was confused as well.  
"She said she got another letter from Archie, who was passing it on from Alex."  
"WHAT?"  
He asked, and she jumped in shock.  
"What else did she say?"  
Veronica stared at him in confusion but answered.  
"Um, something about a demand. It's all so confusing, it doesn't make sense to me."  
He didn't bother explaining and ran back to the music room. He barged into the door, slamming it open and ran inside. Every person in the room jumped in shock but he only had eyes for Alex. He marched towards him and the boy looked around in confusion and fear. He was already standing and now all the other musicians stood too. Jughead growled, his anger boiling. He took the last step towards Alex and snarled in his face.  
"Did you give Archie a letter to pass on to Betty?"  
He asked, a threatening promise of what he would do if it were true in his voice. Alex noticed it too and paled.  
"Hey, leave him alone!"  
Someone said from behind him, but he ignored her.  
"Was I not supposed to?"  
Alex squeaked and Jughead blinked in surprise, was this supposed to be the guy sending the letters? This guy was threatening Betty? The thought made his hand curl into a fist.  
"Did you?"  
Jughead repeated his question through gritted teeth and Alex nodded.  
"Yeah, a guy in the hallway gave it to me and told me to hand it to Archie, gave me five bucks for it."  
The sender was playing with them, sending letters through people instead of straight away so there was no way to catch him in the act.  
"And who was that?"  
"Um...I don't know his name, he was kind of direct about it. Tall, blonde, broad, on the football team I think."  
Jughead could name 10 guys like that. He moved his hand in a circular movement, silently asking for more details.  
"Uhhh." The guy stumbled over himself, desperately grasping for an answer.  
"Well built, green eyed…uh. Oh, always has a bag of skittles!"  
He cried out triumphantly, as if it was anything to be proud about.  
"You mean William Cole?"  
A female voice said from behind him. Jughead immediately dismissed Alex and turned to her. It was Sammy who had spoken.  
"Who's that?"  
Jughead said, searching his memory but coming up blank.  
"Sorry, that's about all I know about him. He's in my French class but otherwise I don't know him."  
She said apologetically and he thanked them both before turning around and heading out the door again. Everyone he passed to get there stayed out of his way, he was about to walk through when a voice stopped him.  
"Oh, and Jughead. Don't threaten my brother."  
Vj said and he didn't need to look over his shoulder to know she was glaring at him murderously. He ignored her and closed the door behind him and found Veronica out in the hall, sitting on the floor. He had to get to Betty, tell her everything, but Veronica looked so upset and miserable he couldn't leave her here. He dropped his bag against one of the lockers close to the one she was leaning against. She looked up at him with teary eyes but didn't say anything. So neither did he as he sat down beside her.  
They each sat in silence, staring ahead, not really moving at all, just thinking. Jughead didn't want to ask, he just wanted Veronica to talk or if she didn't want to, to stay silent. Either way he'd sit here. But finally she did speak.  
"She's not picking up,"  
She said sadly and Jughead turned his head to face her.  
"I'm sorry for that, but maybe now's not the best time anyway. Call her back later, or go see her."  
He suggested and she nodded but didn't stand up.  
"I wish…" She took a deep breath, "I just wish I hadn't hung up. That I'd just asked, had a normal conversation. I wish she had told me you know? I don't get why after everything; she's starting to keep secret's now."  
She said sadly, looking down at her shoes stretched out before her.  
"I think…" Jughead said, then debated whether he should share this. But Veronica turned to him hopefully so he continued, "Betty hates bringing people into her problems, she always has. She didn't want you with her burden, not knowing who and who not to trust. She kept a lot of things from me too. And this thing…It only happened yesterday."  
Veronica nodded.  
"Yeah, okay. I sometimes forget I've only known her for less than a year." She whispered, "You have a whole childhood on me."  
She said with a smile, but he saw beneath it. There was something in her eyes he could never have imagined on her face. A feeling of being left out, being the one standing on the outside. He couldn't believe it. He always thought he was the one on the outside. How long had she been feeling like that?  
"Yeah, maybe. But your friendship will last a lifetime, you'll see."  
He said and her smile widened.  
"I hope so too."  
She said and pulled out her phone. He took that as his que to leave and pulled himself up from off the ground.  
"Thanks Jug."  
She said, her voice no more than a whisper. He smiled, happy to have been a help and picked up his bag. He had his back to her as he walked down the hall, wondering whether he'd been right about Veronica's and Betty's friendship.  
He stepped out into the parking lot and headed for his bike.  
What would happen after high school? He thought. Would they all split ways and never see each other again? Would that be possible after all they'd gone through. He hadn't talked to anyone about college other than Betty and a few teachers. He hadn't even told his father. But he had every intention of going.  
He remembered the conversation with Betty well. Neither of them had enjoyed talking about an inevitable end. He'd liked to think they were more than just a high school romance, and maybe it did go further than that, but at some point high school would end and that was undeniable. Would they end with it?  
"Hey Jug, something on your mind?"  
She'd asked him as they both lay on her bed atop the sheets, the bed still made. They'd just been talking, looking up to the ceiling when he'd suddenly gone silent.  
"Just thinking."  
"About what?"  
Betty urged him patiently as he tried to drive the thought from his head. But it had taken root and wouldn't leave him alone.  
"The future." He said and missed Betty's short intake of breath. This had taken place during the black hood murder spree and most of them were just hoping to survive the next day, the future forgotten about.  
"Past Riverdale and high school. If we survive that is."  
He said, only half joking. Betty had gone still beside him.  
"Yeah, what about it?"  
She asked casually, even as her heart stopped for the answer. Was she in the future he imagined? He sighed, annoyed with the truth.  
"Collage,"  
He said facing her. She faced him too and looked at him with sad eyes, the same thought in both their heads.  
"And where do you want to go?"  
"I don't know, I think I'll apply for a few and see which ones I get into."  
Betty nodded,  
"Yeah, I'll do that too."  
She said around the lump in her throat, the same lump Jughead felt in his.  
"And if…If we get the same acceptance letter, will we…"  
He asked nervously but Betty smiled,  
"Yeah."  
She said but wasn't making any promises. They still had a few years to go before collage happened and there was no telling what schools they'd get into. The chances were low they'd both get into the same school that would be the best one for both of them.  
They each tried not to dwell on that. Even now he shook of the thought and pushed it away for later.  
Jughead got onto his bike and rode off the campus, coming out onto the road and making the short distance to Betty's house. He could have called her but he wanted to give Veronica a chance to talk to her and he thought she'd feel much better if he came in person. He drove up her driveway, leaning his bike against the postbox before jogging up to the door and ringing the bell before knocking urgently. To his surprise Alice opened.  
"Jughead, hello."  
She said pleasantly.  
"Hello Mrs. Cooper, is Betty here?"  
He asked, wondering why she hadn't opened the door as she usually Jughead looked round Alice, trying to see if he could see Betty inside.  
"No she just left,"  
Alice said apologetically before glancing disapprovingly at his bike, leaning against her postbox.  
"She left?"  
He asked in shock and Alice nodded in confusion. It didn't make any sense, after her conversation with Veronica why would she…  
"Yeah just now. Why?"  
Alice asked curiously but not worried, sensing his urgency.  
He didn't know himself. She'd read the letter, did that have something to do with it? Would that explain why she would go? He should have called her…  
"Do you have any idea where she went?"  
Jughead asked Alice confused and she shrugged.  
"No, she just said she would go for a walk. Archie had just come and knocked on the door earlier so I guess she must have gone with him."  
He frowned, not understanding but it wasn't impossible either.  
"Alright, thanks Alice."  
He said and made to turn around before she said,  
"Wait, Jughead, do you want me to pass on a message when she's back?"  
She offered kindly and Jughead debated it.  
"No, that's alright, just tell her I dropped by. I might call her later."  
"Alright then, bye Jughead."  
Jughead smiled and waved before walking away, he reached his bike when he paused. He remembered Veronica's words. She'd said something about a demand, in the letter. Was that where Betty had gone? Was Archie really with her? He continued getting onto his bike before he suddenly changed his mind, he had to check something first.  
He jogged back up to the house, thinking he was probably being paranoid. He knocked quickly and Alice opened again. She looked at him confused but he spoke first.  
"I'm sorry Alice, I will explain everything but please, I need to go to her room first."  
Alice trusted him, he knew that and even though she had no idea what was going on she let him in and up the stairs,but only to follow right behind. He ran up the stairs, Alice still only just behind him and ran into Betty's room, the door still open. He didn't want to lay all her secrets open to her mother but felt like he had no other choice. He ran to her nightstand and pulled out the bottom draw.  
It was filled off mundane stuff witch he all chucked out into the bed. Alice watched from the doorway in shock as he silently but effectively pulled out the cardboard inside the box, revealing another layer full of paper. He hated ruining her privacy like that but he chucked everything onto the bed and looked through it all quickly. They were all hand written letters, letters Betty wrote, apart from two.  
He searched through all the letters, brushing them all aside until he found them. He grabbed the already crumpled up paper and his eyes flew over the page. He saw Alice come up beside him in the corner of his eye.  
"Jughead, what are you doing, you shouldn't be…"  
But he didn't stop. His heart beat twice as fast as it should be as he scanned it, but it was the old letter, the one he read at the hospital. He grabbed the other one he spotted and did the same. He read it twice, three times and still couldn't believe the words. He had completely gone still, completely stopped breathing. He didn't bother putting everything back and ran out the room, Alice hastily stepping out of the way to let him pass. But she didn't follow, she would look through the letters herself. But he couldn't care less now. He had to get to her.  
Dear Betty,  
I haven't heard from you yet Betty. A pity, what happened to Jellybean. But because of that I'll excuse you. But only this once. And you shouldn't have told Jughead, or Sweet Pea, it only makes it easier for me. Your time is running out. My first demand, meet me at the lake. Come alone. I'll know if you don't.  
Fun hunting.


	37. Countdown

Jughead had to get to her, but he couldn't show up alone. And he definitely couldn't take Alice…  
He ran down the stairs and then out of Alice's house, the door banging shut behind him and he hesitated for one moment before he made up his mind to run over to the house next door. But he didn't move. A hand grabbed him from behind and held him stuck to the spot. He turned and found Alice still holding onto him. She turned him around fully to face her and grabbed his other wrist. He met her panicked eyes.  
"Jughead, you need to tell me something, what's going on?"  
He shook his head, feeling panic grip hold of him.  
"I..I don't know myself. But she might be in danger."  
He said frantically and Alice's eyes widened in shock, her hand on his arm going slack. He hated doing it but he had to go. He pulled himself free from her loose grip and ran to Archie's house. Had he gone with her or was she there on her own?  
He jumped over the steps to the porch and charged for the door, throwing himself at it, banging against the wood. He was breathing hard and refused to admit the possibility of something having happened to Betty. He couldn't stand wasting a single second.  
He heard running footsteps and Archie opened hastily, bat in hand. Jughead stared at the bat for a second, did he think he was? A burglar? Why would a burglar knock?  
He forgot the unimportant matter and spun around hastily, walking away, leaving a confused Archie following.  
"Jughead what is it?"  
He asked concerned and Jughead headed towards the garage,  
"Get your keys, we need to use your car."  
Archie obeyed without further questions and ran inside as Jughead jogged over to the garage door and opened it, almost losing his grip of the wet handle. He'd just gotten the big door up when Archie ran past him, bat still in hand and headed inside, jumping into the car. He waited for Jughead to get in too before driving out of the garage at top speed.  
"Head for the lake."  
Jughead demanded and Archie made a sharp left and drove down the familiar road through Riverdale. He wasted no time getting to the point.  
"What's going on Jug?"  
He asked and Jughead explained, looking out of the window nervously, watching the houses zap past at a too slow speed. Come on, faster.His stomach ached at the thought of Betty at the river with whoever had done this. Alone.  
"You need to ask Betty for details, but the letter you passed on…It said she had to come to the lake, to meet the sender."  
"And who's that?"  
He asked confused, his eyebrows scrunched together.  
"We don't know."  
Archie abruptly turned his head away from the road and stared at Jughead in shock and confusion.  
"What? Why would she agree to…?"  
He asked and Jughead interrupted him frustratingly.  
"Whoever it was threatened her."  
He grumbled, angry with himself. He should have figured it out, he should have…  
"She had to come to the river or something would happen."  
He said, feeling himself shudder at the thought. Archie didn't ask any more questions and the car shot forwards, picking up speed.

Had he looked behind him he would have seen Alice run out of the house and stop at the end of her driveway, staring after the boys as they drove off. She turned back in panic and went to go back inside, needing to call Betty, to get some answers. She had no no idea what was going on and it worried her. What could that letter have possibly said?  
But when she ran inside the house a new idea came to her. She grabbed the house phone and fumbled with the bottoms, trying to recall the phone number. She punched it in quickly and paced hurriedly as she waited for the response.  
"Hello?"  
Fp's voice came through the phone and Alice's breath hitched in relief.  
"Fp, I don't know what's going on but Betty's…I think she's in danger. Jughead went after her with Archie. Wh-what should we do?"  
She said helplessly and held the phone closer to her ear to catch his response. For a moment, he said nothing.  
"Hang on just a second Alice,"  
He said and she paced the room impatiently as she waited. She checked the length of the call and at least a minute past before he spoke again.  
"Right, sorry Alice, I had to tell Jellybean, I'm walking through the hospital now. Where are they?"  
"I...I-I don't know."  
Alice said and only as she said it realised how stupid she'd been. She ran back up the steps and back into Betty's room. She picked up the letter Jughead had read out and gasped at the harsh, brash words.  
Demand.  
"Fp, she's at the lake! Oh my God. She's at the lake!"  
She cried and Fp tried his best to comfort her.  
"Alice, Alice, it's okay, she can handle herself and Archie and Jughead are going after her, right?"  
She shook her head sobbing.  
"Y-yes. But please Fp, hurry."  
"Of course."  
He said and hung up. Alice threw the phone onto the bed and began searching through the letters, even as tears fell down her cheek. She had to find out what was going on. Was Betty in serious danger?

A few streets away in Riverdale hospital a Jones' heart sped like a beating drum. Her father had just picked up his phone and she'd watched him cautiously, having coming to know phone calls as always bad news. This time was no different as his face twisted to a thousand different emotions, none of them good. Jellybean waited impatiently but dreading for him to tell her what was wrong. He listened intently until finally he lowered his phone. She stared at him expectantly from her hospital but he still said nothing.  
"Dad, what is it?"  
She asked as calmly as she could manage.  
"Hang on just a second Alice,"  
He said into the phone before addressing her again.  
"Jellybean, I need to go. Betty might be in danger and Jughead went after her."  
He said as he collected his stuff together, his voice on the verge of panic.  
"You're going after them?"  
She asked but she already knew the answer.  
"Yes, of course."  
He said, already reaching for the door. But she stopped him just before he could open it. She knew it was stupid and she was wasting his time, but she had to ask anyway.  
"Wait dad, take me too. Please,"  
She had no idea how she could be any help but she couldn't just lie here.  
"Jellybean, no. You're recovering and…"  
He stopped but she knew what he meant to say. She understood. There was no way she could help, she wouldn't even be good in a fight. But there had to be something…  
"I know, but isn't there anything…"  
"Jellybean," He looked at her with a serious expression, his worry replaced with determination. "It's alright, I got it. I'll help them but they know how to look after themselves and you're better off staying right here. Where everyone knows you're safe."  
He said and she nodded, he placed his hand on the doorknob before changing his mind and turning around. He quickly came up to her bed and leant over her, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again to say goodbye, he was gone. The last thing she heard him say he yelled from the hallway, barely audible through the slightly open door.  
"Your mom will be here soon!"  
She didn't bother responding and fell back into the pillows. She wondered what awful trouble Betty and Jughead had gotten themselves into and prayed it wouldn't be too bad. She stared up at the ceiling and hated herself for not being able to help, for only being able to lie here. She sat up abruptly as she suddenly realised something.  
Her mother.  
Her mother was coming here while Jughead was…  
She didn't know what was happening to him, that he might be in danger. No one had told Gladys. She threw of her blanket and made to swing her legs over the side when she stopped herself. She stared at her cast and remembered the embarrassment the last time she tried to walk. She wasn't going to go through that again.  
Instead she reached over and pressed the red button by her bed. She knew it wouldn't speed anything along but she couldn't help pressing it three times. Soon enough a nurse came in, walking quickly towards her bed, glancing over her to make sure she was alright.  
"I need to borrow your phone."  
Jellybean said urgently, surprising the nurse but she nodded and handed Jellybean her phone cautiously. She dialled the number and waited for the nurse to leave before pressing the phone to her ear. She tapped her bed nervously until finally the constant ringing hitched.  
"Hello? Mom…"  
She said and told her everything not thinking exactly what her mother would do knowing her son was in danger.

Betty knew what she was doing was crazy. She knew she should have at least called Jughead to tell him about the letter. But after talking to Veronica…  
She didn't want to think about it. And the letter had demanded she come alone. Not that that meant she wouldn't come unarmed. She pressed her arm against her side like she'd been doing every few meters and felt the familiar hard shape of the gun digging into her side. She breathed out in relief, like she's done every time.  
If anything unexpected would happen she'd at least be able to defend herself. She hoped. She increased her pace and stuffed her hands into her pockets. She carefully stepped over a root sticking out from above the dusty leaves on the path and continued on. The path she took cut through the forest and was the quickest was she knew that led down to the river. She'd glanced the deep blue of the lake and the light sparkling off it a few times in the breaks of the trees to her right, but tried not to think of it. She'd quickly avert her gaze, not wanting to face whatever it was her blackmailer wanted here at the lake any sooner than she had to.  
She continued moving through the woods at a steady pace until she felt the ground slope beneath her. She was beginning the final descent down to the beach.  
She had no way of knowing whether this was even the right place. The lake touched the borders of Riverdale in quite a few places and the blackmailer had mentioned nothing of a beach. She wished she was wrong, but dare not think of the possible consequences to her mistake.  
This beach seemed to be where everything happened. Where Cheryl and Jason said goodbye, where Archie and Mrs. Grundy heard the gunshot…  
Everything seemed to come back to this spot. It was almost poetic. She wondered whether the sender of the letters knew that too, had planned it that way.  
She came down onto the beach and saw there was no one there yet. She stood on the beach at high alert, looking over her shoulder every other second to see if there was someone there. There had been no time on the letter, so she'd just assumed to come straight away. She stood for a while longer before her panic began to fade and she sat down instead. She sat against a large stone and tried to get comfortable. She was perfectly placed so she could see anyone who came down onto the beach the same way she had. She only wished there wasn't another path she didn't know about.  
She sat for a while, so long she thought he or she must not be coming. Her mind began to wonder to other things when she heard a noise.  
Immediately her mind sharpened and she listened more intently, drowning out all other noise but the one she just heard. But no matter how hard she listened she heard nothing. But she'd placed where the sound had come from. Very slowly she turned her head, looking over the stone she lay against just as the new comer descended onto the beach and the only sound was his boots on the soft sand, coming towards her.

Jughead knew the shortcut Betty had taken, they'd walked down it together before. He guessed correctly in thinking she would go down it now again. She could cut through while he and Archie would be forced to drive around. Jughead gave Archie directions even though the ginger knew the way well himself. But he didn't say anything. Jughead was staring out of the window, as if hoping he might just see her when his phone vibrated. He realised it had never even occurred to him to call anyone. He opened his phone to find a text from an unknown number, not what he expected. He tried to recognise the number but he'd never seen it before. His surprise only increased when he read the message.  
"Don't follow. Please,"  
And that's all it said. He stared at it for a long second and couldn't understand why anyone would send it. Who knew about this meetup apart from the blackmailer and Betty?  
He called for Archie's attention and read the message aloud. The ginger was just as confused as he was.  
"Who would send that? It definitely doesn't sound like the blackmailer."  
He commented and Jughead nodded in agreement.  
"But who then?"  
He asked and Archie turned to him for a brief second, his own expression matching Jughead. Neither of them knew.  
Jughead shook his head and motioned to a road going off to the left.  
"Just keep going,"  
He said and Archie turned down the road he indicating, increasing his speed as the deep blue lake came into view.

Fp pushed his bike harder and sped down the twisted road leading to the lake. He left the road in a sharp turn and continued down a dirt path, only just wide enough to fit his bike through. He was forced to slow down as he skittered between stones and swerved to avoid roots. He cursed his loss of speed but didn't dare go any faster. Finally, he saw where the path came to an end. And beyond it he knew the lake would lay by the pebbly beach.

Betty scrambled to her feet as the new comer approached her. She stared at him in shock for a second before remembering how to speak. She couldn't believe he was here.  
"Wh-what are you doing here?"  
She asked in surprise, debating whether to take a step forward or back. He continued approaching, his face set in an expression she couldn't quite understand. He didn't answer her question.  
"Did you get a letter too? Were you also being threatened or…"  
Betty froze as the 'or' hung between them, his expression darkened and he answered her question.  
"No."  
Sweet Pea said and Betty realised with what felt like a punch to the stomach what that meant. She stared at him in shock, for a moment refusing to believe him…Until it all made perfect sense. She swore guilt flashed over his face but she barely registered it under her own anger and hurt.  
"You!?"  
She accused him in horror and disbelief. How…How could he have done this?  
"You did this!?"  
She cried out, her hands moving to her head to make fists out of her hair. They moved on their own accord and she hardly registered the movement. All she heard was his response.  
"Yes."  
He said, his face flat as stone. She felt tears burn behind her eyes but she refused to let them form. She pushed them down with her anger.  
"How could you?! How could you do this?! I trusted you! I-I helped you. I-I thought we were..."  
She screamed at him but didn't let herself finish her sentence. She felt close to falling to the sand beneath her.  
"You thought what, that we were friends?" He said, mocking her, "You thought I actually liked you?"  
"You're nothing but a filthy Serpent!" She accused him. "You used me and I was stupid enough to want to protect your stupid paper!"  
He stood completely frozen as she yelled at him, his jaw clenched but face still and emotionless as stone.  
"Who trusts a Serpent?"  
He mocked her but his voice was flat as his face. She would have damned the consequences and slapped him had a thought not suddenly occurred to her.  
Why would he give away who he was now, before he'd even had the chance to get what he wanted from her, whatever that may be?  
She tilted her head ever so slightly and a new found confidence filled her.  
"Why would I do anything you tell me? You have nothing over me."  
"Because I can do much more than threaten to release a paper."  
He said and her heart plummeted. For the first time, she realised, she was actually afraid of him. He put his hand into his jacket and she held in her breath as she waited for what he would pull out. Her breath came out strangled as she saw the gun in his hand. He lifted it higher and pointed it straight for her head. She didn't even glance or risk reaching for her own. She'd be dead before she touched the metal. This wasn't some teenage boy in front of her, this was a Serpent and possibly a killer. She took a deep breath to try and get her thought straight, but the gun made it hard. She took one more staggering breath before trying to speak.  
"Why bother with all the letters, the blackmailing if you could just stick a gun to my head."  
She tried to sound as confident as she could but she heard the slight shake and squeak in her voice.  
"I just needed to get you out here, by yourself and very, very scared."  
He said, but the gloating words came out completely flat.  
"But most importantly I needed you to care."  
What he didn't know was that the only thing keeping her calm was her anger, so she focused on that and sharpened her mind. She tightened her hand into a fist.  
"Why me, why go after me?"  
She said, hiding her panic as he began circling her, his gun never wavering, never leaving its target.  
"You're Jughead's sweetheart, an easy target and so impossibly easy to get you to care for me, to think we were friends."  
She was forced to turn as he circled around her, she wasn't going to leave him out of her sight. She met his mocking smile and bared her teeth. His grin only widened and when he clicked off the safety, she couldn't help but flinch, to his obvious delight.  
"But enough talking, here's my first demand…"  
"Coming here was your first demand,"  
She said boldly, as if it would make any type of difference.  
His grin only widened and it made her want to be sick.  
"Oh, that was merely a suggestion, now it begins."  
He stopped walking and froze, standing before her once more.  
"As I was saying…"  
He trailed off for a second, letting the fear pool in her gut and fill her veins. But then she caught him, for a slip second, glancing to his left. He turned to her again and it happened so quickly she thought it might just have been nothing. Something he'd heard, like a bird taking flight…But maybe not.  
And that look, it had seemed like he'd been searching for confirmation, for whatever he was about to do next.  
She didn't give herself away by looking but her mind spun as it tried to imagine who he'd been looking at. Had Jughead come and followed her somehow? What would happen if he had?  
"My-" He continued in his calm voice, "-first command is…Run!"  
He suddenly yelled, his eyes wide in panic and urgency. She jumped in shock and he suddenly pointed the gun down to the sand and shot. It happened so fast she only registered the sound and the puff of sand that was blown up from the beach. Without thinking about it she turned and ran, not even considering she'd actually followed his order. She ran down the beach, her feet too slow as they slapped the sand beneath, slowing her down.  
And then the second shot rang out. She flinched and almost tripped at the sound. She couldn't even hear where it was coming from. Was he firing at her? She ran faster, heaving frantically as adrenaline pumped through her, the only thing keeping her going. She almost froze when she heard a scream, a pained, dying scream. But she pushed forward, almost stumbling as she ran up the hill and up the dirt path. She risked a single glance behind her and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Sweet Pea was still on the beach, on his knees, clutching his hand to his stomach. Had he shot himself? She asked herself in horror as she turned her gaze forward again and continued running.  
Her mind wasn't even working properly; she could hardly form complete thoughts.  
But who had shot Sweet Pea? The words rang in her head on repeat. He couldn't have done it to himself, he'd have to be insane. She couldn't bear to look over her shoulder again.  
But then a noise made her freeze. Not a noise, a voice. A voice calling her name.  
"Betty Cooper!"  
She…She knew that voice. Hated and feared it. She turned around and looked down the path she'd just taken. Looking back onto the beach she saw the unbelievable sight of Penny Peabody, no longer wearing a Serpent jacket. Betty stared at her and all her hope plummeted once more. There Penny stood, on the beach where Betty had stood minutes before only she was holding a gun, Sweet Pea's gun and pointed it to his head. Betty's gaze flickered between the two in confusion, switching between Penny's triumphant but angry expression and Sweet Pea's pained one.  
''Come on down Betty!" Penny yelled across the beach in her familiar sing song voice. Betty felt like she was in a trance as she took a single step forward. She managed to take another when Penny's spoke again.  
"Common Betty, hurry up!"  
She said and instantly she began walking quickly down the path even as every bone yelled for her to run. Run away from this mad woman.  
She'd almost reached the beach when Penny growled in frustration.  
"Hurry, or the shot flies!"  
She threatened and Betty ran the rest of the way back to Penny but didn't dare come any closer than a 10 feet.  
"I don't understand,"  
She said and Penny almost seemed disappointed by her comment.  
"It's not that complicated Betty. Just think."  
She said with a cruel smile that sent chills down her back. She tried thinking, tried branching everything together but it was too much, just out of reach. The gun was too close to Sweet Pea's head for her mind to think rationally.  
But even then a little voice in the back of her head spoke to her.  
He's a traitor, let him die.  
But she knew if she listened to that she'd never forgive herself.  
"If you won't think, listen."  
Penny continued and Betty tore her gaze away from Sweet Pea's half crumpled up body to meet her cold gaze again.  
"Do as I say or he loses his brain, understood?"  
She asked and Betty forced herself to nod.  
"Good, now put those on."  
She said and nodded her head to something up the beach. Betty turned her gaze to where Penny had shown and found there was a bag Betty hadn't noticed before lying by a stone. She didn't ask for confirmation and turned and began walking towards the bag. She slowly fell to her knees before the bag and with shaking hands opened it, pulling the zip as her heart raced. She couldn't quite see what was in the bag and pulled it out carefully. She slowly looked at what she was holding and gasped as she understood what it was.  
But she didn't put it back, she couldn't. She followed Penny's orders and pulled her own shoes off and put on the boots from the bag. But she knew from the weight those weren't ordinary shoes. They were weighted ones, with lead in them. She fought back tears at what her wearing weighted shoes and a lake would lead to. She sniffed them back as she stood up again, her legs shaking tremendously. Crying wouldn't help her. So instead she tried an old trick Polly had taught her, to count down from a hundred. She mouthed every number as she steadied herself and began walking back towards Penny.  
100…99…98  
She could feel the weight of the shoes as she walked, the extra effort she needed to lift her feet.  
97…96…95  
With every number, she took a step, with every number she took a calm breath and held her head higher. She could feel her thought begin to clear, feel her mind working to think of ways to get out of her situation.  
91…90…89  
She looked down at Sweet Pea and could see the blood seeping into his fingers from where he clutched his wound. His shirt had darkened around the area but she had no way of knowing when a person was losing too much blood. She didn't know whether he'd live or survive. He lifted his head to meet her gaze and his pain, despite everything hit her like a slap to the face, but she refused to let it show. But beneath that pain and agony she saw an apology. An apology and plea for forgiveness.  
"He…He didn't do any of this, did he?"  
She asked, thinking aloud and brought her eyes up to meet Penny's gaze.  
"It was all you?"  
She didn't mean to but it came out as a question. She completely forgot about counting as she started to piece things together.  
"You placed the blame on Sweet Pea, had him come out here on gun point, probably told him what to say and shot him when he warned me."  
Betty said and Penny nodded,  
"Good girl, now you're using your head. But enough of that. Start walking."  
Betty froze as she tried to comprehend what Penny was saying.  
"I said, start walking!"  
She yelled, all smiled forgotten. She wasn't playing games anymore. She thrust her arm towards the lake, telling Betty where to go. Her right arm. That meant there was no gun to Sweet Pea's head but Betty knew the opening was too small. She'd never get the chance to draw her gun…  
She obeyed Penny's orders and walked with unsteady steps towards where the beach met the water. She continued counting as her breath began to quicken.  
77…76…75  
She sucked in a breath and kept going. Kept putting one foot in front of the other, waiting for the order to stop.  
72…71…70  
She was so close now, so close to the water. She remembered as a child she would go running down this beach and run into the water, splashing and laughing as she ran. And then she'd throw herself into the water and start to swim. She knew she wouldn't be able to swim now. Those memories seemed so far away.  
63…62…61  
Her toes touched the water and for a moment she couldn't feel the water but as she stepped further the water began to seep into her shoes.  
56…55…54  
She waited desperately for the command to stop but Penny stayed silent, so she walked deeper and deeper. Her ankles were completely underwater when she finally heard a voice from the beach.  
"Stop."  
Penny said, not loudly but Betty heard it perfectly clear. She bit on her sob as she came to a halt and with her back to her blackmailer waited for her next command. She couldn't bear think about what would happen if she'd have to choose. If she'd have to choose whether she should live and Sweet Pea die or she kept walking to her doom. She could imagine herself pulling out the gun and turning, perhaps she'd get a chance to shoot Penny or perhaps she and Sweet Pea would both be dead by then. She had no idea.  
"Get up."  
She flinched as she heard Penny's commanding voice, but it wasn't directed at her. Sweet Pea groaned and she guessed he was standing up. She didn't risk looking over her shoulder. Soon after she heard footsteps, two sets. Penny and Sweet Pea were coming closer.  
"Far enough."  
Penny said and with a thud, Sweet Pea fell back to the sand. This time he stayed silent.  
"Right," Penny said, her voice coming from much closer. "The way this works is I ask you a question and you continue walking until you've answered it. That's it, very simple. Sweet Pea here is only for insurance."  
The words cut like a blade in Betty's mind, forcing their way in, causing her to shake in fear.  
40…39…38  
She'd lost count.  
It seemed less reassuring now, less like a calming agent than a countdown to her death. She continued counting anyway. It was the only thing keeping her from collapsing.  
32…31…


	38. Death at the lake

Fp finally reached the edge and brought his bike to a halt. He looked down at the beach but there was no one there. He didn't understand. How could there be no one there? Where was Betty? He heard the distant sound of voices and instinctively looked up. What he saw made his heart drop.  
There stood Betty and before her Sweet Pea. There she saw, across the water. He had the wrong beach. He reversed quickly and sped as fast as possible back down the path. He had to hurry, he was losing time. And what was Sweet Pea doing there with Betty? Was he there to help her? He pushed his bike harder and made his way as quickly as possible to the other side of the lake. Had he stayed he would have seen Sweet Pea pull out the gun from inside his leather jacket.

"Stop!" Jughead yelled, causing Archie to almost swerve the car. He obeyed without question and halted the car with an ear-aching squeak. Jughead threw the door open and jumped out.  
"Keep going!"  
He commanded Archie before turning around and running across the street towards the woods that surrounded the road from both sides. Archie didn't question his orders and lurched forward, quickly changing gears before continuing at top speed down the twisted roads.  
Jughead didn't look over his shoulder to see if Archie had followed his order but heard the engine of Archie's car as the sound slowly faded into the distance. Jughead ran as fast as he could, faster than he'd ever run before. He headed for the trees and broke through them up the path he knew would lead him to the beach. The path Betty had taken not half an hour earlier.  
He ran with all his might only slowing as he jumped over roots, the trees a blur beside either side of him. He pushed himself to go faster. There was a chance he would get there before Archie. Technically this would be a short cut, but with the speed Archie was going the ginger might get there before him. He had no way of knowing. All he thought about was getting to Betty.

He couldn't do anything to help her. He was on his knees, fighting hard to blink past the pain but it filled his head, pushing out thought. All he could think about was the pain and the pressing fact that he was probably dying.  
Sweet Pea had never known it would come to this. That he would have to witness Betty walking to her death and what Penny was doing to her.  
"First question Betty, since you're considered a Serpent now…"  
Her voice cut through the air like a blade. With effort he managed to lift his head and look up to Betty. Despite the distance he could tell she was shaking, a slight tremor coursing through her. But she stood, she didn't collapse, didn't plead or beg.  
"What did they do with the Ghoulies involved with Jellybean's kidnapping?"  
She asked roughly but Betty didn't answer.  
"Start walking!"  
She yelled and had I not been on my knees I would have jumped in fright at her sudden outburst. Penny was a constant volcano about to explode, only she kept on exploding.  
He heard Betty sob but only once. She starting walking, the water slowly climbing up her leg.  
"I-I don't know. Nobody told me anything."  
She said, her voice shaking as she kept walking, the water before her stretching far, too far and too deep. Penny took deliberately long with her response.  
"That's not good enough."  
Not good enough. Words he knew Betty feared, fought against every day.  
"I swear I don't know!"  
She screamed, her strength leaving her as hysteria took over. The slick water covered her calf but she kept walking.  
"I don't believe you."  
Penny answered and Betty's shoulders sunk in as she sobbed. She looked so small, so small compared to the lake and the rest of the world. Smaller as she walked further away. He couldn't bear it anymore and dropped his gaze down to the sand.  
"I heard…I th-think Fp handed…ed them over to the p-police."  
She said shakenly and Penny sighed in disappointment and irritation.  
"Yes, I know. But not all of them, he could only hand those in he knew were guilty of other crimes. Where are the rest?"  
She was losing her patients and Sweet Pea feared she'd make Betty walk faster. Glancing at her he saw her knees had already disappeared beneath the water. Maybe she'd move faster on her own accord, cut short her misery.  
"I think a few m-might have been ransomed off."  
She said and fell silent. The silence of the beach overwhelmed him. Just the wind, the sand, no birds and possibly the sound of their breaths but otherwise utter silence. Betty was too far away from the beach to hear the water rush away from where she stepped. But suddenly a sound broke the silence. He listened for it again and heard it more distinctly. He prayed Penny hadn't. The sound of an engine.  
This was killing her. She couldn't do this anymore. She sobbed one last time before making up her mind. She couldn't answer Penny's question, she simply didn't know. And she was so so, so sick of crying.  
She counted again.  
5…  
She couldn't take another step. She was going to die anyway, might as well be defending herself. She reached into her jacket slowly, making sure Penny wouldn't see.  
4…  
She froze. She stopped moving, feeling the lake water lapping against her leg and finally, finally she was standing still. Finally, she could now stop, and on her own accord, no one else's. Not Penny and not Sweet Pea, not anybody. Never again.  
3…  
She took a deep breath and pulled out the gun. She heard Penny yelling, demanding her to keep moving. But she wasn't going to. She was going to drown if she didn't do it now. She would be in too deep to pull out her gun. And no one was coming. Her last mistake would be that she didn't call for backup.  
2…  
She closed her eyes for a moment and sent a prayer. She'd never been religious, despite her family and upbringing. She'd never seen God do anything for anyone, people made things happen, not fairy-tale. She didn't pray to God. She prayed to Jughead, her mom, Polly, even her dad.  
I love you, Goodbye and good luck.  
1…  
She instantly turned, her arm flying up and gun looking for its target. She saw Penny, her face frozen in shock and horror and before it could wear off she aimed. She'd never been good with a gun, only taking necessary lessons with Jughead in case she'd have to defend herself against the black hood. But that was close-up. This was a long distance shot and a small target. But this wasn't a dummy or wooden board either. This was Penny and she wanted her dead.  
And she wasn't afraid of death anymore. Her mind sharpened and with a squeeze of the trigger she fired, over and over again as many times as she could.  
She sent out one last prayer that she wouldn't hit Sweet Pea and kept her hand as steady as she could, even as she blinked with every shot.  
As soon as she finished her bullets she fell to her knees, all energy escaping her. Which was probably what saved her life.  
Eight bullets and one had hit her target.  
Penny screamed and Betty looked up to see her clutching her shoulder. Perhaps not a fatal fit but a hit nonetheless. But she recovered and aimed the gun back at Sweet Pea.  
Betty could imagine what would happen next. She'd shoot him and then her. By trying to kill Penny she would have gotten both of them killed. And it would be over for Penny, she'd be arrested and never feel freedom again.  
But then everything changed. Suddenly Betty heard another shot, multiple. She put her hands over her head and pushed herself down as close as possible to the water reflectively. She filched with every shot, convinced the next would hit her. Her head was filled with nothing but fear. Eternal and raw.  
But then the shooting stopped. Silence fell over the beach and after it wore on for a while and she swore she could hear the birds chirping again she looked up. She cautiously lifted her head and gasped at what she saw.  
There was Penny, laying on the sand, not moving. And a woman. She couldn't quite make out who it was but she was leaning over Sweet Pea. He was alive.  
And wading through the water, practically leaping, running towards her…  
Jughead.

He breathed hard, felt his breath scrape against his lungs. But he kept forcing his legs to keep moving. He couldn't bear to think what had happened to her. Finally, he felt that familiar descent onto the beach. But then he heard a shot, another one, and another, echoing through the trees. He ducked instinctively and stopped running.  
He stood up straight again, knowing the shot was not meant for him, that it would come nowhere near him.  
Betty.  
His eyes widened as he realised who the shot might have been for. Betty. Had Betty been shot? Was she dying or already dead? He didn't hesitate and ran the rest of the way down. Fear kept him running, kept him from thinking of the possibility he could be shot. Finally, he broke free from the trees and reached the beach. Out of the cover of the trees he could finally see her. And what he saw scared him to death.  
There She was, his girl, standing in the water up to her thighs as if she'd just risen from the lake like some Goddess. And shooting. Her face calm and hands steady, the only thing giving her away as anything but a killer was the way she flinched with every shot. She sent out so many and he looked away from her to the beach, where, right at the end Penny stood, standing over Sweet Pea.  
What did he have to do about it?  
Jughead saw the bullet fall to the sand, pushing up a cloud of sand, saw Sweet Pea make himself as small as possible to avoid being hit. And saw the bullet that hit Penny right in the shoulder. She cried out but he knew she'd recover. She'd dropped her gun arm in shock but she raised it now and he knew she'd shoot Betty back. Only she wouldn't miss.  
He didn't think, he just started running towards Penny. He'd do anything to stop her. But he didn't have to.  
He'd come two meters from reaching her when he heard the shot. He screamed. Screamed her name. She was on her knees, hands over her head but that couldn't protect her. He waited for her body to fall, but it didn't. Frantically he looked around the beach and then Penny fell.  
Not Betty, Penny.  
Penny had been shot.  
She fell to the sand and Jughead could see the wound. Right in the back of her head, right through her brain, blood spraying. Dead she lay on the sand. Jughead looked around frantically, looking for the shooter. He scanned the edges of the forest, his eyes darting back and forth.  
He kept looking, his breath climbing with every second he couldn't find the shooter. They'd shot Penny but that didn't mean they wouldn't shoot Betty. He ran to the centre of the beach and stood with his back to Betty, covering her. He wanted to turn around and run to her, to hold her and make sure she was alright but he couldn't.  
Then the shooter revealed herself. She stepped out from the cover of the trees and ran down to the beach. Jughead stared at her, frozen in shock as she ran towards him. She pocketed her gun again and Jughead realised she wasn't running towards him; she was running towards Sweet Pea. She kneeled down beside him as he collapsed, falling back into the sand.  
"Jughead, he's been shot."  
She told him and he shook off his shock and joined her on the sand.  
"Shirt."  
She told him and he took it off without hesitation. She carefully lifted Sweet Pea's bloody shirt, revealing the wound beneath. It looked bad. None of them new whether he would survive. But she didn't hesitate.  
"He was a shot a while ago and hasn't bled out, so it's probably not fatal but we need to get him to a hospital and quickly."  
She said and Jughead forgot that she'd gone to medical school, even if she then never became a doctor. He pulled out his phone without hesitation and dialled 911.  
"Here, I'll call. Go get her."  
His mother said and he handed over the phone gratefully. He was about to turn and run but he had to ask.  
"You shot her?"  
She looked up at him briefly.  
"Yes. But please, don't tell Jellybean."  
He nodded and turned around. And there was Betty, still on her knees. He ran towards her. He hit the water when she lifted her head. He felt his stomach clench in relief.  
Alive, she was alive.  
But he could see the horror and pain in her eyes. He kept on running, splashing the water far, only slowing when he reached her. He couldn't understand why she was in the water anyway. She was on her knees so the water rose to her stomach but she didn't get up. He got on his knees before her.  
The water felt cold against his stomach but he hardly noticed it. His face lined up with hers and he looked into her beautiful eyes. He couldn't help but think she was beautiful, her curls golden in the sunlight. Her eyes began filling with tears and he knew there were no words to comfort her, so he simply reached forward and stroked her cheek.  
He stroked her tears away.  
She began sobbing and covered her face with her hands. He reached for her and pulled her to him. He only then noticed how badly she was shivering. He maneuvered around her and took of his jacket slowly, as if not to disturb her. He wrapped it tightly around her and zipped it up, her arms still clutched to her torso. Wrapped up like a burrito. He told her that and she shuddered a laugh before moving in closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and didn't let go. So there they stayed on their knees in the water as the sound of a wailing ambulance filled the beach.

Archie had arrived soon after Jughead and heard Gladys on the phone.  
"Yes…. Yes… And bring the police, there's been a shooting. One dead. Ok…Thank you."  
After that he helped Gladys take care of Sweet Pea. But there wasn't much that could be done, only wait for the ambulance. He'd glanced over the beach and almost thrown up at the sight of Penny. Lying there dead on the beach, her blood being soaked up by the sand. He'd quickly looked away and wondered what had taken place on this beach. Looking out on the lake he could see Jughead and Betty but he didn't approach.  
Then Fp arrived.  
He swerved down the path and drove his bike as far as he could into the sand before dropping it and jumping off.  
"What happened!?"  
He demanded, something Archie hadn't dared. Gladys rose and walked towards him, leaving Archie with Sweet Pea. She pulled him further to the side so Archie was out of earshot.  
"Penny, who shot her?"  
He demanded and without blinking, without an ounce of regret or shame she answered.  
"I did."  
His eyes widened in utter shock.  
"Gladys! What have you done!? Do you have…"  
"Hey, you don't get to yell at me!"  
She said and he remained quiet, letting her explain.  
"I know exactly what this could mean. Jail, and maybe never seeing Jellybean or Jughead ever again. I get that. But that woman…She's hurt Jughead at least twice now and I dread to think what happened before I even got here. I won't have her killing the girl he loves. You know as well as I do you don't come back from that, and especially not Jughead. I would crush him."  
He dropped his head and she knew he knew it as well as she did.  
"She would have shot her and then Sweet Pea. One evil bitch in place of two innocent teenagers seems fair to me. And…"  
He wasn't sure that was a sane moral code, but didn't question her. She hesitated for the first time.  
"And it was a quick decision, I didn't plan it or anything, I'd just brought the gun in case. And I also know what she did to you…"  
He refused to think back to the night in the car with Penny.  
Fp dreaded to think what Gladys could have done had she known what Penny had done to her daughter. He was glad she was dead, but there were consequences.  
"I'll cover it up."  
He said and Gladys looked at him in surprise.  
"Really?"  
"Don't think I'm enough of a monster to let you rot in a cell just to get full custody over my daughter."  
He growled and she couldn't help smile a little bit, despite everything.  
"No, I guess not."  
He smiled back ever so slightly and opened his hand. She understood and pulled out her gun again, placing it in his palm.  
"I'll take care of that."  
He said and she thanked him. But before he could turn back to the subject of what else had happened on this beach, she said,  
"Oh and Forsythe, please don't tell Jellybean, I couldn't bear it."  
She said sadly and Fp nodded.  
More secrets.  
"And why are Jughead and Betty in the water? Are they alright?"  
Gladys then explained the little she knew had happened, knowing it wasn't much.  
Gladys finished, leaving Fp to try and figure out the blanks and then walked away again, but Fp stopped her.  
"Wait, Gladys…" He said and she approached him again cautiously. She didn't like that tone of voice. Like he was about to say something he knew he shouldn't.  
"It is possible we say Betty killed her. It would count as self-defense."  
He suggested shamefully but Gladys immediately shook her head furiously, backing away from him.  
"No, no way. It's not right. She's just a child! She's gone through enough."  
She turned around and walked away, back to Archie and Sweet Pea. But not before adding, half over her shoulder,  
"Besides, I shot her in the back of the head, it wouldn't add up."  
She said and that was the end of that. No one ever mentioned the idea again after that.  
Fp stared after the woman he once loved and wondered if he'd ever really known her. He never knew he married a woman capable of killing a person without apology, as justified as it may be. But maybe, of all the terrible things he'd done, she'd never imagined him capable of those. And look what happened.  
The thought were driven from his head when the sound of the ambulance reached the beach, and became louder.  
"Forsythe!" Gladys called for him and he jogged over to where the three of them sat upon the sand, Sweet Pea having managed to sit up.  
"We need to bring him to the hospital car."  
She said and he nodded without hesitation before crouching down and gently placing his arms under Sweet Pea's knees and armpits. Sweet Pea groaned and Fp was as gentle as he could as he erected himself again and picked up the young man. Carefully but hurriedly he headed back to the trees and followed the sound of the ambulance. He was halfway to the road when he bumped into two men, holding a stretcher and medical supplies between them as they ran towards the beach. They saw Fp and Sweet Pea and hurried their step. Wordlessly they picked up Sweet Pea from Fp's arms and laid him out on the stretcher. Words wasted time. But as they left back towards the ambulance one of the men looked back over the shoulder and nodded to Fp in thanks.  
The two of them had hardly disappeared out of sight when more people came down the path, all wearing the same uniform and each carrying different supplies and followed Fp as he led them down to the beach.  
As soon as they reached the beach they all spread out in different directions, checking if Penny was really dead, making sure Gladys and Archie where alright and a few headed out to the two teenagers in the water. One even came up to Fp to make sure he was alright.  
The medics cautiously approached Betty and Jughead. They'd seen what some people did after that kind of violence, lashing out, even at their loved ones. They each took one of them and carefully knelt beside them.  
"We're here to help you but you're going to freeze in this water, can you try and stand."  
The woman said to both of them, she was young, probably only just out of training.  
"I'm okay. I-I wasn't there."  
Jughead said and slowly rose to his feet, tugging Betty up with him.  
"C'mon, Betty."  
He said encouragingly and with effort she unfolded her legs and pushed herself off the lake floor. She began to rise up to her full height and Jughead carefully unzipped his jacked to allow her to move her arms. She clung on to Jughead's shoulders to balance herself. He supported her with a hand under her elbow and once she steadied he slowly pulled away, but didn't let go of her hand. He took her hand and with his back to the beach he tried to guide her forward but she didn't move her feet. The two medics kept their distance, watching cautiously.  
They didn't want to get involved if the boy could do it on his own. Being touched by a stranger wouldn't help her stress level. But they shared a look when they saw she wasn't moving.  
"Come on, Betty. It's alright."  
He said softly and she shook her head. Her tears had dried as she looked at him sadly.  
"My feet."  
She said and Jughead looked at her in confusion for a second before he slowly knelt back in the water. He reached for her foot and felt the leather of her shoes. Only they weren't her shoes, they were far too thick.  
He looked up at her in confusion and she looked down ashamed.  
"She made me."  
She said and bent her knee to allow him to push up her foot. She lifted her foot high enough to break the surface and he gasped as he understood.  
"Oh my God."  
He whispered and even the two medics behind them were shocked.  
"Lead."  
Betty explained and Jughead jumped up again. He pulled her to him again and held her tightly.  
"I'm so sorry."  
He said but she didn't reply. He slowly pulled away again and crouched down. Through the water he felt for the straps and undid them. They were proper diving boots. He pulled them off gently and reached out to one of the medics. The man stepped forward and took the shoe from him, taking the other one as well when Jughead had untied it.  
Then the four of them made their way back to the beach slowly. Betty's shivering had become much more obvious and Jughead too started to feel very cold. The medics gave them each heavy blankets and they sat together on the beach, staring out to the lake, not looking at the dead body behind them. Although, Jughead did glance over his shoulder, just once, to see them cover Penny's body with a long plastic bag.  
He looked away again and thought of what would happen next. He knew they would question each of them separately, find out who had killed Penny. Tears fell to his cheek as he realised what that meant for his mother. She's shot her and it hadn't been self-defense. She would be charged, not with murder perhaps but charged nonetheless.  
Unless she could cover it up. Somehow.  
He couldn't bear to think what would happen to Jellybean if she ever knew about this.


	39. It’s over

“Alright, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of movies to know how this goes.”  
The investigator said as she took her seat. Her partner leaned against the door to her left, watching everything carefully. The room was dark, as you’d expect it to be, except for the light from the overhanging head light. Otherwise, the only splash of colour in the room was the investigators bright tie. Bright orange in fact.  
He didn’t know if anyone else had been brought in already. He wasn’t supposed to know. They hadn’t had any contact since the incident, protocol he guessed, so they didn’t have time to get their stories straight. He knew his role was easy, he’d just have to tell the truth and just happening to skip over the conversation he’d had with his mother. But this he felt nervous, felt his heart ache in his chest. He’d never been interrogated before. Especially not when he knew he was guilty of something, even if it wasn’t shouting Penny.  
He tried not to let it get to him.  
The investigator before him had a sip of her tea before placing it beside the file she’d just opened. His file. She also opened a bright orange notebook to take notes. What was it with her and bright orange? He didn’t comment on it.  
“I’ll ask you questions; you have the right to answer or call for a lawyer.”  
He nodded, keeping his hands between his knees, clasped together. He thought of Betty and wished he could be with her now. They’d allowed each of them to visit her separately. She was staying at the hospital for the time being, just to make sure she was alright. She had for the last four days and no one knew when they’d let her. But he knew they were waiting for her to fall apart. But they didn’t know her. They didn’t know what she had survived and he knew she would survive this too.   
Jellybean and Betty had visited each other a lot the past day, sharing their experiences with Penny Peabody.   
The investigators were going to be talking to Betty soon he knew. As soon as she was brought to the hospital she’d pulled out her gun and handed it to the police officer before she entered the building. They had looked at her in shock and sent a police man in with her. He stood by her door at all times.  
The moment Jughead had picked her up he’d felt the gun, tucked within her jacket. Had felt it press against him but he hadn’t said a word, hadn’t given anything away to the medics, only clutched her tighter. Afterwards, staring out to the water together he’d cautiously asked her about it.  
“Betty, what are you going to do about the gun?”  
He’d whispered to her softly. She hadn’t turned her head, only shrugged.  
“I don’t know. Suppose I’ll say it was self-defence.”  
She’d said and he’d nodded thoughtfully. But self-defence trials were complicated and the only witness had been Sweet Pea and Gladys. But in her story she couldn’t have, she’d have to say she’d arrived later on.  
“You sure? You sure you don’t want to get rid of it.”  
She’d shaken her head immediately.  
“No. I shot her, I’ll take responsibility for it.”  
She’d said softly and Jughead had wanted to argue but he’d kept quiet. He had wanted to tell her Penny had made her suffer enough, Penny shouldn’t be allowed to put her through even more pain now.   
But he never said those words.

“First question,” The investigator said, snapping Jughead from his thoughts back to the grey room he sat in.  
“Why did you go to the lake?”  
“I read a letter send to Betty telling her to go to the lake. And so I went there as fast as I could to make sure she was alright.”  
She scribbled something in her notebook, completely unreadable to him. She looked up again and asked her next question.  
“What letter?”  
“Recently she’d been receiving letters from an anonymous person, blackmailing her. That was the most recent one.”  
More scribbling.  
“Did you take anything with you to the lake?”  
He shook his head.  
“No, just my phone. I was with Archie in the car.”  
“Did he take anything with him?”  
She asked in the same tone but he could tell her excitement and curiosity was growing.  
“Yes, a bat.”  
She rambled through some routine questions he could tell she wasn’t really interested in either. Her partner lost interest and pulled out a book from out of her pocket. He glanced over at her but otherwise kept his gaze strictly on orange-tie before him.  
“What did you see when you reached the beach?”  
“First I heard the gunshots and then Penny dead in the sand, Sweet Pea bleeding and on his knees…And B-Betty was on her knees, far out in the water, her hands over her head to protect herself.”  
He said softly. Betty hadn’t wanted to hide what she’d done but he wasn’t going to advertise it either. A small lie cost him nothing. The investigator stopped her stream of questions for a moment. She looked at him with pity and sadness for a moment before dropping her gaze to scribble something in her notebook. She must have read the report about Betty. When she looked up the expression was gone again.   
“What did you do then?”  
She asked, as flat as the other questions but softer.  
“I helped my mom take care of Sweet Pea and then I ran to Betty…”  
“Your mom was there?”  
“Yes, she arrived about the same time, maybe just after I did.”  
He said. Not a lie. The investigator nodded and scribbled some more.  
“Did you see who shot Penny?”  
She asked, leaning forward and staring straight at him and he felt that little thud off his heart. He had it whenever he told a lie at this scale.  
“No.”  
“Ok. What happened after you got to Betty?”  
“I comforted her and at some point, Archie and Fp arrived.”  
“Weren’t you in the car with Archie?”  
And so he told the whole story, the investigator squeezing everything out, despite his short answers.  
“Did you see anyone in the forest?”  
“No.”  
With that last question, she seemed satisfied. She leaned back in her chair and Jughead shuffled in his. He felt uncomfortable from sitting for so long.  
“Who do you think killed Penny Peabody?”  
She asked and he was surprised the question came up now. But he guessed it was supposed to surprise him so he didn’t let anything on.   
“I don’t know.”  
“I didn’t ask who killed her, I asked who do you think killed her?”  
The investigator repeated, smoothing down her tie.  
He thought for a moment, scrambling for what would be the appropriate answer.  
“So far we have four solid suspects, Archie, Forsythe Jones the II, Gladys and you, Forsythe the III. Who do you think it was?”  
“I think, since you seem to care about my opinion so much, that you shouldn’t be accusing teenagers of murder. And I swear if Betty is on that list…”  
“You what?”  
She asked invitingly and he knew he shouldn’t but he felt the words on his lips. Wanted to spit them.  
I’ll make your case hell.  
But sense returned to him and he kept quiet.  
“Answer the question.”  
“I don’t think any of them did it. I think it was someone else. My family aren’t killers. And Archie neither.”  
“You sure?”  
She asked and he wanted to strangle her with that damn tie.  
“Of course I’m sure.”  
And after that she let him go. Her partner followed him out into the hall but kept a few steps behind. She wasn’t supposed to shadow him.   
“Forsythe.” She called after him and begrudgingly he stopped. He knew that outside the actual investigation his actions mattered.  
He turned around and she walked up to him but kept an appropriate distance.  
“I’m sorry my partners so hard on you.”  
She said and Jughead only shrugged.  
“I can tell she enjoyed it.”  
“She just loves a good mystery.”  
“And murder, and pain, and what happened to a teenage girl.”  
The woman’s face fell and with that, he was about to turn around and continue walking down the hall. He was free to go, for now, they’d told him and he planned on visiting Betty.   
But then she replied.  
“You’re Betty’s boyfriend right? You know you’re the top suspect now? You killed the woman hurting your girl. They think it’s more likely to be you then your father. Despite his… History.”  
Jughead didn’t care about any of this and he didn’t care to ask why she was telling him this. To get him worried? To get him to confess?  
He didn’t say anything.  
But she didn’t seem to except him too either. She simply turned to the left and opened a door, walking through it. Jughead didn’t bother watching her and walked quickly down the hall and to the exit. 

Little did he know that the room the woman had walked into was the other interrogation room, where Betty sat.  
The women had timed it perfectly so Betty would arrive towards the end of the investigation and wait in the room as Jughead walked right past her. Neither knowing the other was there.  
The interrogator walked in and took a seat at the table, Betty sitting on the opposite end. Betty sat as straight as she could, hiding her discomfort. She’d never been interrogated before and feared she’d blurt out everything. Which is why she never asked who shot Penny. It didn’t even really matter to her, Penny was dead, that’s all she wanted.  
It’s also the main reason why she hadn’t gotten rid of the gun. She didn’t want that fear of looking over her shoulder all the time, wondering whether the police would find out. Whoever had shot Penny might be able to do that but she couldn’t.   
“Hello, my name is Na Yeung. And you’re Elizabeth Cooper. Correct?”  
Her first question. At least it was something she couldn’t be any surer of.  
“Yes.”  
She said and Na Yeung must have noticed how anxious she was because she said,  
“It’s alright. No need to be nervous. We know you didn’t kill Penny. But you did shoot her, didn’t you?”  
She nodded and Na Yeung looked at her apologetically before saying,  
“I’m sorry, Betty this is recorded, we need to hear your response.”  
“Oh Ok. Yes.”  
She said, slightly embarrassed before she realised something.  
“Wait, how did you know I went by Betty?”  
She blinked in confusion, not expecting her confidence or questions.  
“Sorry?”  
She said and Betty elaborated.  
“Your file says Elizabeth, you’ve never met me before and probably haven’t heard of me. So how come you called me Betty?”  
“Well, I…” Na Yeung started then changed her mind. “It’s what Jughead called you.”  
Betty’s confused and suspicious expression dropped to a pain and sad one.  
“You’ve questioned him?”  
“Yes, but Betty, this isn’t about him, this is about you.”  
She nodded and pressed her thumb against her ring finger.  
“Right so. Tell me, what happened on that beach?”  
She sucked in a breath and she was back on the beach, the gun back in her hand, her feet underwater. She took one more breath before she answered the question.  
“I arrived and sat on the beach, waiting for the blackmailer to arrive….”

About 10 minutes later in the other questioning room, Sweet Pea answered the same question.  
“Penny had forced me into her car. I didn’t know Betty had received a new letter, I had no idea where we were going until I saw it. We stopped and she told me to put in an earpiece. She handed it to me and I did as I was told. She said she would tell me what to say and all I had to do was repeat it. She’d shoot me if I didn’t. I walked through the trees and dared to text Jughead, telling him not to come because he would without a doubt come to save Betty. I went down to the beach as I was told, hoping she wasn’t there. But she was, sitting by a stone waiting for me…”

“I had no idea he would come. I never thought Sweet Pea could have been the blackmailer. Turns out he wasn’t,” Betty continued her story. “He was speaking for Penny, because he had to. He mocked me and spat on me…Until…”

“Penny had given me a gun to threaten Betty with, with one single bullet. She’d never intended for Betty to come out alive, maybe neither of us. She seemed so sure I would shoot her, but I didn’t.   
She must have stayed close because she heard every word, gave me every response. And then after all the insults and taunts, she told me to pull out the gun and point it at Betty and… to command her to…”  
He couldn’t form the words. He didn’t want to. He wanted to keep this awful part to himself.  
“But I wouldn’t,” he continued. “So I told her to run, knowing she wouldn’t obey me unless I wasted that one bullet by shooting the sand at her feet. Then she ran. But that left me completely stuck. I expected Penny to come running from the trees but she didn’t even reveal her. I just heard the shot and screamed. For Betty or myself, I don’t know.   
But then I felt it, hot like iron in my stomach, burning a hole through me.  
I fell and thought that would be the end of it. I would die, Penny would flee and Betty would get away. But instead, I heard her voice, calling for Betty. There she was, walking towards me with a gun pointed at my head.  
We were trapped again…”

And they each told their story. Their word raw and pained, picturing every moment of it all. Aware that from now on they’d always carry this story with them, that this was a part of them now.

“Is this the gun you used?”  
The inspector asked once Betty had told her story. She pulled out a gun in a plastic bag from her bag and placed it on the table.   
Betty stared at it and nodded,  
“Yes, that’s the one.”  
“Why did you bring the gun?”  
“I think I knew the blackmailer wanted to hurt me. She’d been threatening me for some time.”  
“Do you regret shooting her?”  
“No,” she said certainly. “She would have killed us but I…I didn’t mean for her to actually die.”  
“And did you kill her?”  
“No!” She said too loudly.   
“I didn’t.” She added softly. “I thought I would be I didn’t.”  
“You wanted her dead though, didn’t you?”  
The investigator asked softly and Betty looked down at her hands when answering.  
“Yes.”  
“Betty.” Na Yeung said and Betty looked up again. The inspector smiled as she met her gaze.  
“That isn’t a crime.”  
She whispered reassuringly and Betty nodded. She opened her mouth to ask a question before changing her mind.  
“Go on.”  
Na Yeung encouraged her and Betty asked the question she’d been wondering ever since she’d talked with Jughead on the beach.  
“Will…Will it count as self-defence? What I did.”  
Na Yeung pressed her lips together thoughtfully before shaking her head.  
“I don’t know. Only the Judge can decide that.”  
Betty nodded slowly and bit her lip worryingly.  
“Now, for the last question.” Na Yeung said, trying to cheer Betty up as a smile broke over her face. “Would you like something to drink?”  
Betty forced herself to smile back.  
“Yes please. A latté please if you have one.”  
The woman nodded and smiled and stood up. Betty liked her, she only wished it weren’t completely fake, the kindness and gentleness.   
“There’s a bathroom at the end of the hall if you need it.”  
Na Yeung said before leaving the room, gently closing the door behind her.   
Betty sat as five minutes then ten minutes passed. She tapped the floor impatiently before getting up from her seat. What was taking so long? The dull colour of the room had started to wear her out. She stood and headed to the door but before she opened she stopped herself. Why would they leave a suspect unattended? Where they already sure it wasn’t her? She hoped so, though she feared what that would mean for the others.   
She ignored her fears and stepped out. She looked left and right, trying to decide which way to go. She spotted the bathroom at the end of the hall on her right and headed towards it. She jumped a little when she heard a door suddenly open behind her. She realised her thoughts had drifted elsewhere. She looked behind her and a woman stepped out of the door before holding it open for someone else. She was blocking Betty’s view so she couldn’t quite see just yet who that person was.  
She wondered what type of people were at the police station. Any murders being questioned in rooms just like the one she’d just been in? But her heart plummeted worse than if it had been a murdered when she saw who stepped out of the room. Sweet Pea.   
The moment she caught sight of him and recognised him she turned around again and continued walking. She didn’t think about it, she just put as much distance as she could between herself and him.   
“Hey!”  
She heard a woman call from behind her, warning laced in the words. And recognising where she was, what she had just been questioned for, she stopped. But when she turned around she realised the woman who had been holding open the door was speaking to Sweet Pea, not Betty. Sweet Pea who was now running towards Betty, ignoring the inspector’s words. But she couldn’t run. Not with another investigator watching.  
“Betty, don’t go.”  
He said when he reached her.  
“Sweet Pea, go back to her.”  
Betty said flatly, referring to the inspector scowling at them.  
“She can’t do anything; I’m allowed to leave after the investigation.”  
“Good, then leave.”  
She said and he blinked at her in surprise. She’d never spoken to him like this before, passively, uninterested and rude.   
“Betty, what’s wrong…?”  
He asked worryingly but she didn’t want his worry or pity. She didn’t want to see him.   
“Everything! Everything is wrong Sweet Pea, can’t you see that.”  
She said frustratingly.

"Of course I know that. But what's wrong that you can't look at me."  
She realised she was. She was avoiding his gaze. She was avoiding looking into those eyes she'd seen full of pain, foretelling doom and death. She was hiding from them. Hiding from her own too. 

"I just… can't okay!"  
She shouted and he flinched back. He actually flinched. After everything, she made him flinch.  
“I… I can't look at you. I can’t be around you. It’s just… I don’t think we can see each other anymore. Ever.”  
She said, knowing it was cruel but she couldn't handle it. The doctors were waiting for a breaking point, for something to push her off the edge. Maybe this was it.

“What no! that’s not fair.”  
He protested in disbelief but didn't come any closer.

“Goodbye Sweet Pea.”  
She said and turned around but he took her arm and wrenched her back to face him.  
“No! This isn’t goodbye. That isn’t enough! It’s not…I got shot for you!"  
He shouted, falling over his words and clutching her arm. But she didn't raise her voice when she spoke.

“And I walked through that lake for you. That’s where it ends.”

“You shot at me, I could have died.”

"And I would have died.”  
And she finally met his gaze, his eyes pained and lost, looking into hers as if he was looking for the missing piece of the puzzle.  
But she’d scattered the pieces.  
“Please, don’t go.”  
He whispered brokenly, all the energy drained out of him. But she pried his fingers lose from her arms and let them fall.  
And this time she didn’t say goodbye.   
She turned around again and walked away, walking past the investigator holding two mugs. Na Yeung looked at her in shock but didn’t stop her, just gave Betty her drink and let her go. Betty thanked the woman and walked on, not sure how she was to get back to the hospital. If she was even obliged to.  
She was so tired, she just wanted to lie down and sleep. Forever. Never having to wake up to this mess again.

Sweet Pea closed his eyes for a long second as he walked back to the investigation room. He couldn’t go to the waiting room because he knew she would be there, that he would bump into her.  
He couldn’t believe that, just a few seconds ago might just have been the last time he would ever see Betty again.   
He couldn’t believe she’d thrown him out of her life like that, after everything. He’d even hoped to believe everything would bring them closer. Or maybe not. But not this, definitely not this.  
He’d cried enough the last few days and no more fell that day.  
He had nowhere to go so he walked past the investigation room and kept going for a while.   
The realisation hit him hard.   
He had nowhere to go.  
His grandparents hadn’t even visited him in the hospital. They wanted him dead so why bother. He couldn’t and didn’t want to go to the cold, stone block he was supposed to call home.   
So he kept going, surprised he still had the energy to walk. He was lucky he was even moving at all. The doctors kept telling him that.   
He was lucky. He’d been shot but they kept calling him lucky.  
Lucky the bullet had hit his kidney and nothing worse. Every time someone told him he was lucky he wanted to punch them.   
He’d lost consciousness somewhere after Penny was shot, only occasionally coming by after that. He’d squinted up to find Gladys and Jughead leaning over him, but they weren’t looking at him, they were talking to each other. He’d felt a tight pressure against his stomach and looked down to find Jughead’s shirt tightly wrapped around him. He’d lost consciousness again after that.  
He fought hard to remember anything after that but couldn’t recall anything but bright and blurry faces and white walls. After he’d woken up in a bed they’d told his he’d spend three hours being operated on and had a stomach full of a million stitches. They had an odd idea of lucky.  
He felt his strength drop quickly and he reached out to the wall to steady himself. But instead, he collapsed right into it. He blanked out for a second but came round again. He breathed deeply and let himself slide down to the floor and stayed there.   
He thought whether he should get back to the hospital or if this kind of exhaustion was perfectly normal. If the numbness that came with it was either.   
He hadn’t been paying enough attention to know. He’d tried though, but his mind had kept wondering to the beach, trying to put everything together the way the police were trying to do as well. He passed out before he could think about it any longer.

 

Jellybean looked up when she heard the knocking at her door. Whoever it was could simply open the door and walk in as soon as she said they could but instead she reached for the crutches. The last couple of days the doctors had helped her, doing some simple physiotherapy with her. But it had helped a lot. And between the child therapist coming in and her routine checks, she’d spend more and more time trying to move around with the crutches. She swung her legs over the side of her bed carefully and pushed herself up with the crutches. She hopped over to the door and proudly opened it herself.   
But her proud expression fell when she saw who it was.

“Betty! How are you? How did it go?” She asked the blonde who now stood in her doorway.  
She looked absolutely miserable. She opened the door a little further and let her in, hopping back over to her bed. She hopped onto the bed and dropped her crutches and waited for Betty to sit beside her as she always did these days. Betty walked over slowly and sat, letting her head rest against Jellybean’s shoulder. She looked so tired, Jellybean thought. On Betty’s first day at the hospital, she didn’t say anything much, definitely nothing about what happened on the beach. She didn’t eat much and didn’t sleep at all. The days after that she’d done almost nothing but sleep. No one understood the thoughts in her head. But slowly she’d begun talking to Jellybean, only snippets but they were enough. And Jellybean gave her own snippets back.   
Jellybean waited patiently for her to speak and put her head to Betty’s. And a few minutes later she did:  
“I told them everything. She was nice but then…I bumped into Sweet Pea and I couldn’t look into his eyes. I suddenly felt this hatred towards him, stronger than when I was at the beach. I know it wasn’t him but… I told him I never wanted to see him again.” She said and Jellybean held herself back from acting surprised. But she was. She couldn’t understand. Couldn’t she relate to him? Couldn’t they help each other get over it by talking about it? Apparently not. 

“Is that…” She didn’t know what to say really, “Is that really what you want? Never to talk to him again, not about this or anything else anymore.”  
Silence.   
Betty only nodded her head yes and Jellybean didn’t ask about it any further. 

The two of them stayed that way for a while, Jellybean comforting Betty until both their eyelids began to droop. Jellybean hadn’t had much sleep either worrying about everyone and Betty was exhausted. Betty fell asleep first and Jellybean felt her steady breath tickled against her neck. She looked down and seeing Betty’s sleeping face she moved ever so slowly. Gently she lifted her friend’s head and using her other hand to support Betty’s back, and lowered her onto the bed. 

Jellybean felt like crashing down beside her, but decided instead to leave her alone. She picked up her crutches and making as little sound as she could, she headed for the door. She walked out on her one properly functioning foot and headed for Betty’s room, set across from hers, planning to sleep there. But she changed her mind before she covered half the distance. She headed for the reception instead. She felt hungry and she knew the redhead, Alice from behind the desk, would give her some of her lunch. She came around the corner when something caught her eye. She turned her head and found a familiar face sitting in the waiting room, her father.

She frowned. What was he doing here? And why hadn’t he come to see her if he was here? She forgot about her hunger and hopped over to him.  
He must have heard the tap of her crutches because he looked up as she approached. He smiled and she smiled back warmly. He stood to greet her and gave her a tight hung when she reached him. He was careful not to hit her leg, this time. 

“Nice to see you on your feet again.” He said as he pulled back, looking down at her cast before correcting himself.

“Well, on your foot at least.” He said with a grin that widened her own.

“Hello, dad.”  
“Hi, Jellybean.” He said and put out his arm for her to lean on as he removed the crutches from under her arm. He supported her as she sat and put the crutches gently on the floor before sitting next to her. She’d never asked but he automatically seemed to make things easy for her.

“Anyway, what are you doing here?”  
She asked with a curious gleam in her eye. His grin widened.  
“Well, what about you?” He said, nodding his head towards the reception. “Here to steal Alice’s lunch again?”  
“That wasn’t stealing,” she defended herself. “And no, I’m not.”  
She denied, but she knew he looked straight through her lie when he rolled his eyes at her excuse.

“I came to get away and of course to see you.”  
“Then what are you doing out here?” He shrugged.

“Just…Thinking.”  
“Is that what you were getting away from?”  
“What, thinking? No.” He said, his lip quirking upwards, “I needed to get away from the White Worms and the Serpents.”  
Right, the Serpents.  
She thought to herself.   
That was a whole other mess. She’d almost forgotten about it.  
“What do they think about you no longer being a Serpent, and now that they are kingless?”   
He let out a heavy breath.  
“They’re not so happy, but I think they put two and two together. You arriving and me giving up being a Serpent. Still it’s not common, usually, they leave their family to become a Serpent, not the other way around.”  
Jellybean didn’t know what to say to that.  
“But they’re not too upset neither. Me stepping down gives them more leeway and a chance to grasp for power…”  
“Does that mean…”  
“That Jughead will take my place? No, it doesn’t really. There is no actual rule saying it’s like a monarchy. I’m just called the Serpent King for colour, doesn’t have anything to do with the actual system. But if Jug swooped in, no one would object. I just don’t want him to.” She stared at him in surprise.

“You don’t?”  
She asked incredulously and he nodded.  
“No. I don’t want anything bad happening to him and all this… I sometimes forget he’s only 16. 16 and he’s already been through too much. I’m… I’m scared him being a Serpent will turn him into something he hates, someone who only hates. It eats at you, eats you alive. I don’t want that for him. I want him to go to college, live a proper life.”

“Thank you.” She said and he blinked. He hadn’t meant to but he’d stared off into space.

“What?”  
“Thank you.”  
She repeated herself.  
“For wanting to get him out. I thought…”  
“That I would want him to follow me. But I don’t think that would be wise.” Jellybean nodded. He was right and she was incredible grateful he realised it.

“Hang on just a second, I have to make a call.” He said and stood up.   
She followed his movements with her gaze as he walked out of the building and turned the corner so he could remain unseen and unheard.   
She wondered what he was calling about if he had come here to get away from everything. None of her business she was sure. She supposed she’d best get to her nurses before they discovered another patient in her bed. But she didn’t want to get up and worst of all, she didn’t want them to wake Betty. So she sat and looked around her.   
There always seemed to be a few people here at a time, at any the time, with flowers, cards, fluffy toys, all kinds of stuff. She’d gotten plenty of those from Kath. She smiled as she thought of her.

Kath’s father had long since gone home and intrusted Alice with her care, on the condition she went to school. But otherwise, she was always here with her. Apparently, she and Zoe had become closer, walking home from school together. She liked that.  
Her thoughts drifted further when her father walked in again. She looked up at him, a question written over her face as he approached. He grinned and gave out a hand helping her up. She was pleasantly surprised by his good mood. Maybe finally something good had happened.  
But then, as she walked along on her crutches beside him, he led her to the door. What was he doing? She couldn’t just leave!  
“Dad, I can’t just walk out.”  
She told him and he turned around to face her.  
“Oh yes, of course,” He said, then raised his voice,   
“Alice!”  
He called and the woman behind the desk lifted her head.  
“Mind if I take Jellybean out for a bit?”   
He said with a grin and to her surprise, Alice grinned back.  
“Of course! Good luck!”  
She said in her usual friendly tone before looking down at her computer screen again.  
“Thanks, Alice,”  
Fp said and turned around to face the door again. He offered her his arm and she took it in confusion.  
“Where are we going?”  
She asked suspiciously but excitedly.  
“Well, the doctors said you were allowed to leave regularly so I thought I would take you somewhere.”  
“Ok.”  
She said with a grin but as she looked around she couldn’t see his bike anywhere.  
“We’re not walking are we?”  
She asked shocked and he laughed.  
“No.”  
And pulled her along to a car she hadn’t seen before. He opened the door for her and she got in.   
“I didn’t know you had a car.”  
“Borrowed it.”   
“Why?”  
She asked as he got into the driver’s seat. He looked over his shoulder.  
“Can’t exactly take you on a bike can I?”  
She shrugged. Perhaps not.  
“Okay, but where are we going?”  
“You’ll see.”  
He said and started the car, smiling at himself at what Jellybean didn’t know.  
He hoped she loved it. He hoped Jughead did too.


	40. Moving forward

Jughead was halfway to the hospital when his phone rang. He was going to ignore it, not wanting to bother with stopping but thought it might be urgent.  
Nearly everyone he loved was in the hospital after all, he thought to himself.  
He pulled over near an unfamiliar house and didn't get off his bike, only planted both feet down on the ground.

"Hello."

He said as he accepted the call, seconds from having missed it.

"Hey Jug. How did it go?"

His father asked, not one to bother with chit chat. Still, Jughead blinked in surprise.  
How had he known he'd been questioned? It was only three minutes ago.  
"Fine but I don't know who they think did it though."

"Yeah, me neither."

Jughead's confusion doubled.

"You mean, you've been in there too already?"

"Yes and so was your mother, we went yesterday evening."

"What, why didn't you tell me!"

Jughead asked shocked.  
"Your mother and I agreed, we didn't want to worry you. Knowing we'd already told our story would only freak you out more about yours. You'd over analyse everything and because of it, trip up."

"Yeah, maybe."  
Jughead said grumpily. But he wondered whether he hadn't done that anyway. Had everything he'd said matched up? He couldn't do anything but wait and see.  
And he hated nothing more than having to wait.

"And Jellybean, have they questioned her?"  
Jughead asked as the thought came to him.

"Not yet I think. They want her to completely clean of all drugs before starting I think."  
Fp said and Jughead nodded, wondering how his sister was doing.

"Oh, why'd you call anyway?"  
Jughead asked, suspecting there was more to it than to check up on him.

"I'm going to send you an address. Don't ask any questions, just come, okay?"

He said, which only increased Jughead's questions. Where on earth would that be and why? But he didn't ask. He opened the text with the address and started up his bike again.  
He sighed as he lifted his feet off the street. He was so tired. Tired of the panic that filled him, tired of getting hurt, tired of everything.  
He drove to the address in a daze, not quite noticing anything, not quite taking everything in. He just kept going, knowing roughly where the street was his father wanted him to go to. He knew it was on the other side of town.  
As he drove further and further from where he wanted to go he felt more and more frustrated. What was he doing following his father's orders? Who was he to tell him what to do? Jellybean was still in the hospital because of him and now he wanted to play games?  
He clutched the bike harder in frustration and without looking spun the wheel around. To hell, if he crashed or not. But the road was empty. He spun around and drove back the way he came. Faster and faster. He kept picking up speed, shredding through the gears. The wind tearing at him but still, he couldn't feel it, his jacket too thick, his helmet trapping him in. He didn't want to stop, he just wanted to keep going until the pain wore off, until he forgot who he was.  
But he knew that wasn't possible. He knew he was being childish. He came up to a red light. He didn't care much for breaking such an innocent law, the streets were empty after all but he braked anyway.   
As his bike slowed so did his heart and his sense came back to him. He indicated left and pulled out his phone as he waited. There was so little noise he heard his fingers tapping the screen of his phone, even over the noise of his humming engine.   
He checked his phone and found he had another text. He flipped up his visor to see better and found it was a text from Betty. His stomach tightened in fear of bad news. Would that feeling ever go away? Would he know always feel it when he got a text from anyone?  
He decided not to think about it and read the text.

'Heading to the police station. Don't wait up,'

Was all it said. He checked the time the message had been sent, 10:48. Only twenty minutes before his own investigation had ended.  
He frowned in frustration, they had questioned her. He was almost sure they would but still…After all she'd been through they made her go through it again, relive it. He knew he shouldn't be angry; she was a suspect to a murder but it still upset him. He was angry.  
He checked the time and knew she wouldn't be out for some time. She'd told him not to but he wanted to wait for her. Needed to make sure she was alright.

But she had asked. Maybe she needed her personal space.  
So he turned his indicator off and waited for the light to turn green. He'd put his phone back in his pocket when he heard it vibrate. He pulled it out again, glancing up at the traffic light. Still red. He opened the new text from Jellybean and skimmed the words quickly.  
"Jughead come quickly, I'm with dad. This is amazing!"

It read. A jumble of lower and upper case letters. He smiled, imaging her excitement and flicked his indicator back on. He put his phone in his pocket just as the light turned green. He drove forward and made a very illegal turn, but there was no one there to see it.  
He could do with some amazing right now.  
The car pulled up to a house Jellybean had never seen before. She wasn't even sure she'd ever passed through the neighbourhood. She looked through the windows at her surroundings, trying to figure out what they would be doing here. But didn't find a clue. Why would they come here? She wondered as her father got out and opened the door for her. She took her crutches and stood, looking around curiously. She didn't ask what they were doing here just yet and waited to find out.  
It was a lovely house with a nice short lawn and a tree leaning against one of its sides. It looked rather new and had plenty of glass windows, letting in the light. She followed her father at a short distance as he walked towards the door.  
Did he have to talk to someone or pick something up?  
She thought to herself when he unexpectedly pulled out a key. She'd thought he would knock. Why did he have a key to this house?  
But she didn't ask. He slid the key into the lock and looked over his shoulder at her with a smile before turning the key in the lock.

The lock clicked open and he pushed down on the handle. She'd expected him to go in but he gestured for her to go in first. So she did, looking at him suspiciously as she walked past. She nudged the door open with her knee, not risking losing her balance and walked in. She looked around and noticed none of the lights were on and most of the room was cast in shadows, the only light coming through the window at the end of the room. She walked in further and felt that strong feeling she was not supposed to be here, like they were breaking in or something.  
She wasn't completely sure they weren't.  
She felt something was off and noticed the living room was only sparsely furnished. Like it wasn't quite finished.  
She turned around to face Fp, a silent question on her face.  
But he didn't answer.  
He only watched her with a slight smile, waiting to see what she would do. Not knowing what else to do she walked in further. The house was obviously empty anyway. And completely silent. Her crutches made the only noise. The kitchen came into view and she scanned the counter. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but there had to be a reason.  
She liked the house, it was simple but nice, with two comfortable looking sofas in the living room, a large table underneath a wide window, its light blue curtains were drawn, light still coming through.

"You like it?"

Fp asked from behind her as he pushed himself from off the door. She turned around again and frowned at his question.  
What kind of question was that?  
He didn't explain but instead nodded his head towards the table. She followed his gaze and noticed there was something there. Something she'd missed earlier. She walked over, even more confused than earlier. As she got closer she noticed something. The smell. She knew that smell, it was the smell of a new house, fresh paint and not a spot of dirt. The cleanliness but also the emptiness. No pictures or souvenirs or art, just the furniture.  
She reached the table and looked at the two small boxes that were placed upon the brown wood.  
They were small, only big enough to maybe fit a necklace or a ring. The two boxes were identical so she picked one up randomly. She looked over her shoulder at Fp for affirmation. Was this what she was supposed to do? But he didn't say, watching her with an amused smile. She held the box in her hand and carefully lifted the lid. It slid of easily and her frown deepened.  
Inside was a small silver object, a thin chain attached to it. A key.  
She picked it up by the chain and held it up, examining it, the light bouncing off it. She'd hoped it would hold a clue, answer all her question. And then suddenly it did.  
She gasped and whipped her head round to Fp in shock. His grin grew as a smile blossomed on her own cheeks.  
It all made sense: the smell, the lack of pictures, this was a new house. This was her new house. Home.  
She fastened the necklace check around her neck before running to her best ability to her father. He opened his arms as she ran to him. She dropped her crutches and he caught her, keeping her from hitting the floor.  
She clutched him tightly.

"You did it! You actually did it!"  
She exclaimed, happiest she's ever been. He held on to her just as tight.  
Finally, it felt like they were moving forward. She was going to live here, have a life here. Be happy with her father and her brother.  
When she pulled away he supported her and gave her back her crutches. She took them eagerly and explored the house, touching every surface gingerly, imagining living here. Eating breakfast at the table, Jughead leaning against the counter with a bowl of cereal laughing. Lying on the sofa reading a book as her brother sat opposite her, tapping away on his typewriter. Scenario after scenario filled her head.  
A real, proper house at last.  
She only wished Jughead could come and see this for himself. She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text.

"You wanna see upstairs?"

Fp asked her as she laid her phone on the counter. She grinned in excitement and made her way as quickly as she could to the staircase, giddy as a little kid.  
She carefully ran up the stairs, Fp behind her and came out into a short hallway with four spaced out doors, each of the same dark wood. She hesitated.  
"The one at the end."

Fp said as he came up the last stair. She ran over without hesitation and threw the door open, already standing slightly open.  
But when she headed inside she felt her heart drop in disappointment.  
She wasn't sure what she'd expected, maybe she thought it would be perfect. That it would be all she ever wanted. But all it was was a large room with a naked bed and a simple wardrobe. Fp must have noticed her change in attitude because he said,

"I'm sorry, it isn't much. But I brought this."

He said and she watched him curiously as he walked around her and headed for the bed. He bent down and picked something up from behind the bed, out of her view. She watched with curiosity and came closer as he revealed a big brown box. A moving box.  
He placed it on the bed and she came closer to see what was inside. She smiled at what she saw. It was Mama bear, the one Jughead had returned to her. She pulled her out carefully and laid her out on the mattress. Underneath were all the clothes she'd brought with her, washed and ironed. She'd completely forgotten she'd meant to do and wash them. She smiled up at Fp before pulling them out too and laying them on the bed.  
There was more in the box. Old toys she'd forgotten about, an alarm clock, pencils. She'd pulled them all out and laid them on her bed.  
"Thank you,"

She said to her father with a grin and placed her teddy against the backboard of her bed. Just then the doorbell rang. She looked to the door.  
Jughead.  
She hoped it was him.  
"I'll go see."  
Fp said and Jellybean nodded. He left the room and she picked up her belongings, placing them around the room. It wasn't all that much but for now, she'd just have to get creative.  
She smiled as she placed the last book on top of the makeshift bookshelf she'd made from the brown box.  
Jughead turned off his bike and craned his neck to look up at the house before him. It looked empty but after checking the address again he got off and walked over to the door. Having received no further instructions from his father he simply rang the doorbell.  
He half expected no one to answer. He must have the wrong address. But someone did. His eyebrows rose in surprise as his father stood there. He'd taken his jumper off and as he examined his father he noticed also his shoes. Why had he taken his shoes off?  
"Dad?"  
He asked curiously and his father stepped back, opening the door for him.  
"Come on in Jug."  
He said, his eyes warm and kind. He'd missed that. The last few days everyone had been miserable. Jughead stepped into the hall cautiously and looked about. Everything seemed normal, no blood, not even muddy footprints. And then that text from Jellybean…  
He wondered what it all meant.  
In fact, now he looked around he noticed the place was completely empty. Apart from a phone on the counter. The object caught his attention and he walked over. He picked it up and turned it on. A picture of him and Jellybean greeted him.  
He'd bought the phone for her.  
He'd know hers was broken so he brought her a new one at the hospital. She'd immediately added his number and demand they take a selfie. He looked awkward in the picture, not smiling properly, as if caught off guard. But she grinned widely, dressed in her hospital gown and her arm thrown over his shoulder. He smiled at the picture before laying the phone back on the counter. He turned around and leaned against the counter as he faced his dad.  
"What are we doing here?"  
He asked and Fp gestured to the table. Jughead looked over and noticed something he'd missed before. He approached it with a frown and picked it up. He pulled off the lid and chucked it on the table. But when he saw what was inside his head shot up to meet Fp's gaze. He couldn't believe it. After all these years…  
He looked around him in awe, seeing everything in a new light. This key, it could only mean one thing.  
His father had finally pulled himself together, saved money, bought a house, invested in something permanent, something bigger than a trailer.  
For Jellybean.  
His father walked over and Jughead realised he hadn't said anything; he hadn't moved in a long time. He only stared in disbelief. Only when his father approached and wrapped his arms around him was he a hundred percent sure this was all real. He hugged him back, clinging onto reality. He would actually have something normal in his life, somewhere he wanted to come back to. A bed of his own.  
He ignored the fact that it had taken Jellybean to come back in their lives to get that. Or at least he tried to ignore it.  
He heard a tapping on the stairs and looked up, lifting his head from his father's shoulder. He found his sister coming down the stairs and smiled at her. He clutched his father's shoulder for a second longer and let go. He walked over to his sister and met her at the end of the stairs. He looked into her eyes and smiled. Smiled at the joy and utter happiness he found there. Smiled at her glow. Smiled because he hoped from now on he'd always see her like that. That happy. Avoiding the crutches he hugged her, his arms looping around her waist and when he pulled away he placed a warm kiss on her cheek. She grinned back at him before taking his hand and clumsily but determinedly pulling him up the stairs. He admired her effort.  
Betty woke up with a headache. She groaned as she felt it thump against her skull. She stared up at the ceiling and wondered how much time had passed. She lazily reached for the glass of water beside her bed and found it wasn't there. She sighed and sat up slowly. Only then did she realise something was off. She looked around and saw the visitor's chair was in the other corner of the room and the TV stood at a different angle.  
Damn it. She was in the wrong room. But by the looks of it, it was Jellybean's. She recognised the book lying on the night table by the bed. She'd recommended it to Jellybean herself.  
Fully dressed she got up off the bed and slowly made her way to the door. Her room was so close, but all she wanted to do was sleep.  
Her head cleared enough for her to wonder where Jellybean was. If Betty was here, where was she? She reached the door handle and pushed down. But then the door flew open towards her. She yelped and stepped back. She was surprised to find Gladys standing in the hallway, face struck with shock and embarrassment.  
"Oh, I'm sorry Betty."  
Betty waved it off and took another couple of steps back, allowing Gladys space to come in. She came in eagerly and looked over Betty's shoulder.  
"Is Jellybean here?"  
"Uh, no. She was here earlier but when I fell asleep she left."  
Betty said embarrassed but Gladys didn't even notice.  
"Left? Left where?"  
"I...I don't know, sorry."  
She stammered, racking her brain for any memory of Jellybean mentioning she would be going somewhere. She found nothing.  
"I need to find her," she said, but there was a smile underneath her shallow worry, "I visited the school counselor, he's found someone, a judge I think, to take on the case!"  
Despite her misery Betty smiled too.  
"That's great!"  
She said excitedly and Gladys grinned widely. She looked so much younger when she smiled, more like the woman Betty had known as a child. But even then she barely knew her, just a distant figure in her very young childhood. Gladys had disappeared out of her life before she'd disappeared out of Jughead's. But she remembered her mother crying and leaving often. Years later Betty found out her mother had visited Fp and Jughead often, helping out.  
"Jellybean will be really happy here, I'm sure."  
She said and saw Gladys sigh in relief. Gladys had agreed to this but Betty wasn't sure she was a hundred percent confident. And of course, she was giving up half of her daughter in a way. Betty couldn't imagine how that must have felt.  
"Hey, are you okay about all this?"  
She asked Gladys and she thought a second for nodding.  
"It took a lot of convincing and arguing but yes. Yes, I think I am. But Betty, between me and you, do you think he can do it? Properly take care of her and make her happy."  
Betty nodded. She did, she believed it with her whole heart.  
"Yes, absolutely. I've never seen him fight for anything harder than he is now. He's pulled himself together for Jughead, really being there for him the last year. He'll be there for Jellybean too. And I'll always be there to lend a helping hand."  
Betty promised and Gladys grinned widely.  
"How could I ever repay you?"  
She asked warmly before taking the few steps to Betty. She pulled her into a brief hug. Betty was surprised by it but hugged her back.  
"Anyway, thanks Betty, but I've got to go and find Jellybean and tell her the news."  
Gladys said once she pulled away. Betty grinned and wished her good luck. Once Gladys was gone her smile remained.  
Finally, they were moving forward and not spiralling out of control.  
She hadn't told anyone but that morning she'd gotten permission to leave. She could go home again. But something stopped her.  
She didn't feel like going home. Where she'd have to talk to people and answer their questions. Here she could hide away.  
She sat on her bed and stared out of the window. Everything around her was moving forward and she didn't want to be left behind. Just stuck.  
So she took off her hospital gown and changed back into her own clothes, freshly washed. Already she felt lighter. The gown felt like a big label reading, 'sick'. To be free from it was a great relief. She checked the time on her watch before strapping it around her wrist again. It was 1:30, her mother would be at work now, just finishing her lunch break. Alice had visited Betty every morning and most afternoons, always asking after her health and her therapy sessions. But when she'd visited Betty dis morning Betty had told her nothing of being allowed to leave. She wasn't sure why she hadn't said anything. But she hardly got a word in edgeways around her mother anyway. Alice had ranted on and on about the newspaper, about what to write in her articles, about what to write about Penny's murder.  
But Betty liked not having to talk, not having to answer questions. She'd listen to her mother with a smile, nodding along and agreeing every now and then. But as she sat there on her own she knew it was time to go and answer those questions. To go back to school.  
She had surprisingly little to carry, just her phone, backpack and gifted stuffed teddies. They sold them at the hospital and despite how ridiculous it was Jughead had bought her one every day. She stuffed as many as she could in her backpack along with her notebooks and laptop. She made sure she hadn't forgotten anything and swung the bag over her shoulder. Without another glance, she left the room. She walked down the hall and walked over to reception. The receptionists seemed to be on lunch rotation so she quickly signed herself out while no one was looking, forging her mother's signature. She walked straight for the door, not risking getting caught. She opened the doors and finally breathed in fresh air. Finally, she could really breathe. She savoured it for a moment before heading home. She could call for a lift but she didn't mind the walk. The chilling spring breeze felt great against her cheek. She pulled her jumper over her head and continued walking. Her phone buzzed in her pocket once she crossed the street. She didn't stop as she pulled it out of her pocket. A text from her mom.  
'It'll be a long day at the office. Won't be home till 6. See you tomorrow.'  
Betty read and didn't bother replying just yet. She put her headphones in and put more distance between herself and the hospital.  
At least now there was no rush to get home and she could take all the time she needed to explain to her mother she'd gotten out of the hospital.  
An idea came to mind.  
The last couple of days she'd been planning something. Although mainly because there was simply nothing else to do.  
She thought now would be the perfect opportunity to carry it out, with the idea still fresh in her head and a few hours where no one would go looking for her.  
She felt a nervous kick and welcomed it. She remembered the feeling well, the excitement, the nervousness.  
She was sick of sitting around not doing anything. She wanted to make a difference.  
The Jubilee was in a few months and she was sure she could convince the right people and address the town. She knew just what to talk about.  
She hurried her step and veered further and further away from the way to her house. She needed to go somewhere very different.  
Southside.


	41. Mama Felicia

Betty kept walking, the map of the Southside clear in her head. She knew she had little to go on, only the word of a guy in a tattoo parlour she'd found in the phonebook. At first the road to follow was easy and she stuck to the main road but once she turned into smaller streets it started to become tricky. She followed seemingly random paths and tried to navigate her way through Southside. She'd never really understood just how big it was, or in this case, how easy it was to get lost in. She didn't risk going the wrong way and pulled out the map from her bag. She followed the squiggly lines she'd drawn the best she could.  
It was the middle of the day and she hardly bumped into anybody except for the occasional guy carrying grocery shopping or walking a dog. She avoided them with her head and eyes cast down. Northsiders weren't welcome.  
She checked the map twice before passing into a street you could scarcely get a bike through it was so narrow. She hesitated a second before walking in slowly. She walked on for five minutes, not liking the feeling of the walls so close to her. And just as the map predicted, the street ended. She folded her map up and put it back into her backpack. This was it, she thought as she loosed a shallow breath.  
The ground she'd just walked on was cast into shadow by the building before her. She didn't approach it just yet. It was tall and thin, as if trying to take up all the space it possibly could, its towering height blocked the sun. It was the only building in the street, it almost seemed part of it. The thin street opened up and seemed to circle the house, protecting it. She stepped further forward and as she did the place seemed a lot less gloomy then she'd thought. She was surprised to find it was clean, not a stop on its walls, a deep contrast to the filthy walls of the ally. She'd never consciously pictured the place but maybe she had made some assumptions. They were definitely wrong.  
The house seemed almost freshly painted, a bright, warm white colour. It was like a fairy-tale. The whole neighbourhood had tainted and aged, but not this one building. No one, not even time, had dared to touch this building.  
Betty shook of such a dramatic interpretation and approached the door.  
This is Mama Felicia's house; no one will harm you.  
She reminded herself and knocked on the polished wooden door. She stepped back and nervously waited for someone to open it.  
She even considered running while she still had the chance.  
Why would they welcome a Northsider? She shouldn't be taking this kind of risk so soon after-  
She let all those thoughts go and stood her ground, ready to take on whatever would be thrown at her. Before she could change her mind and lose her confidence again the door opened. A young woman appeared from behind it and smiled at her.  
"Hello, how can I help you?"  
She offered kindly. Betty gave her a small smile back and subconsciously gripped her backpack straps tighter.  
"Yeah, um, I'm looking for Mama Felicia."  
"That's me."  
She said and Betty hid her surprise. The woman before her couldn't be over 30. She hadn't consciously set any expectations of what Mama Felicia would look like…But perhaps she had always thought she would be old.  
"Great," Betty said quickly, "can I come in? I just want to talk."  
The woman nodded,  
"sure Betty Cooper."

Jellybean, Jughead and Fp were all seated at the kitchen table and talked among themselves, each happy to feel at home. Fp had bought the house two days ago and done his best to make it look nice. He'd bought the sets of furniture already in the house from the last owner and found all the other bits and pieces himself. He could tell Jellybean and Jughead were excited to move in and bring in all their stuff. Fp took the cookies he'd brought for the occasion and set them on the kitchen table. He'd even brought cocoa powder and milk. Jellybean laughed at how wonderful and random it was. He made all three of them a hot chocolate and they sat together, telling stories and laughing, slurping away at their hot chocolates.  
At some point, a lot of it came running down from Jellybean's nose as she laughed. She held her nose in pain as Jughead howled with laughter.  
They all wished there would be many more times like these.  
When their stories were told and no one knew what more to say Fp pulled out a packet of playing cards. Jughead and Jellybean actually didn't know any card games so Fp taught them. The ones he'd known as a kid and the ones he'd made up. As a child, his parents weren't always around, though they tried their best. To keep himself entertained Fp played card games with the other kids on the street. But when they were all called home to eat and he wasn't, he'd make up his own games. He would spend hours working on them and the next day show his friend. His friends had loved them and Fp had been very proud of himself.  
Watching his kids playing those games, laughing victoriously or grumbling in defeat, he was proud of what he'd done. And he hadn't felt that in a very long time. He was proud of his children too, for what they'd gone through and what they'd recovered from.  
Fp glanced at his hand again and played his final ace, his face completely blank, giving nothing away. But he watched with amusement as both of his kids faces lit up and they both lunged for the card. Jughead glanced at his sister, sure he would win but he overestimated himself. The second before his card hit the pile Jellybean's card fell beneath his. The final ace. Nothing compared to the two of diamonds he'd unintentionally laid on top of hers.  
"Take that." She yelled and jumped up from her seat, "SNAP! And three threes!"  
She yelled in excitement as she chucked down her last three remaining cards. Even Fp started, a nearly impossible hand. Jughead chucked his own card on the table in defeat. Fp grinned.  
"Great job JB."  
He said as he swept up all the cards with his hands, getting ready to deal them out again. He gave Jellybean her points on the scoreboard as she took a victory lap around the living room, singing, 'we are the champions'. Only extremely out of tune.  
Just as well she stuck to the guitar Jughead thought. He turned away and didn't let her see the wide grin on his face. She joined them again and he scowled at his loss. She stuck her tongue out at him and eagerly accepted her new hand of cards.  
All three Jones' looked up when the bell rang. The siblings looked to the door before sharing a confused look. Who could that be?  
Jughead laid his cards face down on the table and stood up. Fp didn't stop him. He walked over to the door and opened it carefully, only to find Gladys standing on the other side. They each looked equally surprised to see each other.  
"Oh, um, hi."  
He said, getting over his shock. She did the same.  
"Uh, hello."  
She said and leant forward, planting a kiss on Jughead's cheek.  
"But Jughead, what are you doing here?"  
He grinned and she only looked more confused.  
"Come on in, mom."  
He said and stepped out of the way to let her pass. She headed inside and looked around as Jughead closed the door again. She immediately noticed Fp and Jellybean at the table. She clutched her handbag tighter to her and didn't take off her jacket. Jellybean seemed stuck between a look of confusion and excitement. Fp smiled,  
"Care for a round?"  
He offered as he shuffled the cards again. She nodded.  
She'd always loved playing with Fp when they were younger. Fp's silly but very fun games she'd helped improved, adding ruled that meant he didn't always win.  
"Absolutely," she said with a grin and Jughead followed closely behind as she headed over to the table. She passed by Jellybean and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, mumbling a, "Hi Sweetie," before taking the seat next to her. Jughead retook his old seat next to Fp and picked up his new cards, ready to play.  
"What are you all doing here?"  
She asked curiously, looking around at the kitchen interior. Jellybean grinned, waiting for her mother to figure it out. Gladys turned to Jellybean for answers when she noticed something around her neck. She looked over to Jughead and fund the same thing around his, she hadn't noticed them before.  
"What's that?"  
She asked, gently reaching for the chain around Jellybean's neck. When everyone stayed silent she untucked it from behind her shirt and found there to be a key at the end. She held the key between her thumb and index finger and wondered what it was for. She was about to figure it out when Jellybean couldn't hold back her excitement.  
"It's the key to the house mom. This house!"  
She said gleefully, grinning wide. Realisation dawned on Gladys and hardly believing it was true turned to Fp for affirmation. He nodded proudly and she grinned happily before hugging Jellybean close to her. She stood once she pulled away and did the same to Jughead, squeezing him tightly. His grin was as wide and free as his sisters. When they pulled away she faced Fp.  
"Oh, Forsyth, this is wonderful!"  
She exclaimed as he rose. And for the first time in years, she hugged him and he hugged her back. For the first time in years, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.  
"Thank you." She whispered, her hot breath tickling his ear. She marvelled at how the man she'd known all those years ago had become the man he'd been, the man she'd hated, but now he was something completely different. He was the man he wanted to be. The man his family needed him to be.  
When she pulled away she picked up her handbag where she'd dropped it by her chair and lifted it, setting it up on the table. She met everyone's puzzled gazes and didn't lose her grin as she opened the zip and pulled out the ring binder. How a huge ring binder like that had fitted in there was a mystery to the rest of them. She opened the purple ring binder and the Jones' all bent forward to get a closer look. They all looked surprised and even more confused as they recognised the content as the shared custody forms they'd all spent hours poured over. Only now the forms were almost double the amount they were before and all neatly put into the folder.  
Twice the amount of forms.  
The thought flew through Jellybean's head and she jumped up.  
"You did it! You filled them all in!"  
The rest was just squeals as she ran over to her mom and hugged her side incredibly tight. Gladys laughed,  
"Wait Jellybean, there's more!"  
She said in excitement and Jellybean pulled away again. She looked up at her mom with such excitement, like a child on Christmas.  
She addressed all of them when she said.  
"A judge has taken on the case! We've finished all the paperwork and Mr Whitman managed to get hold of a judge. Her name is Matilda," Gladys said hurriedly as she pulled out a sheet with all the details of the case on it. "She's ready to start at the end of this week!"  
Everyone was now beaming and Jughead hugged his father tightly in victory. Fp laughed and pulled Jellybean into the hug too. Jellybean grabbed her mother's hand and despite her protest pulled Gladys into the hug too. They all laughed.  
"Thank you! Mom, this is amazing!"  
Jellybean said and planted a long kiss on her mother's cheek.  
The four of them celebrated with more hot chocolate and cookies. They continued playing cards, speaking excitedly of the future that purple ring binder would guaranty. No one paid much attention as to who was losing and who was winning. Meanwhile, the clock on the kitchen wall struck 3:30. School, which Jughead and Jellybean hadn't needed to go to, was over.

Zoe waited for Kath outside the physics classroom. In PE class she'd been let out early to change and had 10 minutes left before the bell would ring. She spent it waiting outside of Kath's last class of the day. She sat on the floor, shifting to get comfortable against the wall and pulled out her sketchpad. She never quite new what to draw so she picked the first thing that came to mind. She roughly drew out the shape of the face then came back and sharpened the jaw, roughing the edges. She moved up her cheek and gently smudged the sheet with her pencil before rubbing the mark with her finger, drawing the sharp lift of her cheekbones. Zoe smiled as she drew the slightly upturned end of her nose. She let the shadow fall on the left side of the face on the sheet when the bell rang.  
Another second later and students left classrooms and headed in different directions, heading home or to activities, Zoe paid them no attention. The physics classroom door opened quickly and Zoe snapped her pad shut. She picked up her bag and stood up as a couple of other students walked out of the classroom. She flung her bag over her shoulder just as Kath appeared before her.  
"Hey,"  
Kath said and Zoe returned the greeting, her pad still in her hand.  
"Thanks for waiting," Kath said but Zoe waved off her gratitude. "Don't mention it."  
They started walking.  
"Is that you're sketchpad?"  
Kath asked, glancing down to where Zoe had it now under her arm. She nodded,  
"yeah."  
"You any good?"  
Kath asked with a grin and Zoe shrugged.  
"'Think so."  
She said with an amused smile.  
"What were you drawing?"  
Kath asked, interested. Zoe hid her panic and tried to think of anything, anything but who she'd been drawing. Anything other than Jellybean.  
"My dog, she'd a golden retriever."  
She said and Kath's smile grew.  
"Oh, that's so cute, I didn't know you had a dog. What's his name."  
"Soda."  
She said and almost sighed in relief. There was no way she could have told Kath she'd been drawing her girlfriend. It was bad enough she already had a crush on her, she didn't need Kath or anybody else knowing that on top of that.  
The two girls conversation drifted in many directions as they walked their way home. They'd been walking home together ever since Kath had arrived. Zoe had immediately volunteered to show her around and they'd become something like friends. It helped to have fun and be together, it took their thought off Jellybean and hospital rooms. Zoe had even offered Kath stay with her instead of staying with Gladys at the hotel. Kath was impossibly grateful.  
They talked about film analysis as they walked along the path by the park, passing many little green scrubs that grew behind the fence when Kath's phone buzzed in her pocket. She apologised to Zoe before pulling her phone out from her pocket and opening her new message. It was from her dad. She read it over and over again, not understanding how he could possibly ask this of her.  
"I'm sorry, I need to…"  
She said, still staring at her phone. The rest of her sentence was forgotten as she walked a little further away. Zoe understood and stepped back, giving Kath some space. She looked at her new friend in worry though. She hoped nothing bad had happened.  
Kath called her father's contact quickly and pressed the phone to her ear, waiting for him to pick up. Anger boiled in her gut and she felt like shouting, at him.  
"Hello?" His soft voice came through the phone but it wasn't enough to stifle her anger.  
"Dad, what the hell?"  
She burst out and Zoe started in shock.  
"What do you mean, I need to go home!"  
Kath continued.  
"But dad…" she said after a pause, but her father interrupted her again.  
"You've been gone too long. Jellybean will be fine."  
"I don't see the problem! I'm going to school aren't I?"  
Kath said, the anger falling away for desperation. But she wouldn't relent. She wouldn't leave Jellybean behind.  
"It's not that, and I think you know it too," her father continued, "Jellybean is going to be staying here with her father, you know that. I'm sorry to have to be the one to say it but with you there in Riverdale it will be harder for her. It will make it much harder to settle in and to deal with splitting her life into two places like that. I'm sorry I have to tell you, but I don't think anyone else will."  
And he truly did sound sorry.  
Kath's heart dropped. She knew it was true, that he was of course right. She was here to support and be there for Jellybean but-  
If she was honest with herself she knew she was also clinging on to her, not letting her go.  
But for Jellybean to be really happy she had to let go, had to accept her place. Had to accept that Jellybean would spend half her time here and the other with her in Toledo. Had to except that just being in Toledo with her hadn't been enough for Jellybean. She took a deep breath. She would wait in Toledo; she would be another person for Jellybean to come back to.  
"Okay dad," she said softly. "Just, give me two more days."  
She managed and to Kath's relief, he agreed. They said their goodbyes before she hung up. She put her phone away and found Zoe waiting for her. She sniffed and Zoe stepped forward and reached for her hand.  
"You okay?"  
She asked concerned and Kath nodded. She was. Zoe smiled and gently moved forward, careful not to break any boundaries Kath didn't want to break. But she didn't object and welcomed Zoe's hug. She opened her own arms and held her tightly. Kath smiled at how much smaller Zoe was. Most girls Kath's age were. But Kath often forgot how tall she was when she was around Jellybean, who towered even over her. While Zoe's chin didn't even reach over Kath's shoulder as she hugged her. Before Kath pulled away she whispered into Zoe's ear.  
"Take care of her."  
Zoe nodded as they stepped apart,  
"of course I will."  
They smiled before continuing down the small path, heading home.  
"What are you going to tell Jellybean?"  
Zoe asked, not sure how to approach the subject as they crossed the road.  
"I suppose I just tell her. Tomorrow."  
Kath said wearily and Zoe nodded. She didn't pretend to know Kath well but she knew her enough to know she'd avoid this. Even if she knew it was right, as she'd told her, she would still delay it. Like a last act of defiance. They walked along in silence.

Betty stared at the young woman before her in shock.  
"H-how do you know my name?"  
She stuttered and the woman smiled back at her secretively.  
"Come in."  
Was all she said and Betty couldn't help but feel a momentary hesitation. It worried her that a woman she'd never seen before knew her name. And she was going into a stranger's house after all…  
She stepped over the threshold and headed inside. She was immediately met by the bright coloured walls of a small hall. Children's drawings and doodles covered the lower half of the wall. The pictures were thickly layered, new kids appearing to have painted over the same wall again and again. Betty smiled at the sight. The woman came up from behind Betty and passed by her, showing the way. Betty followed cautiously, looking around curiously. The thin hall spilled out into a wide living room as she turned the corner and in the silence, she could hear the distant sound of laughter and chatter. She looked around the living room, with thin mats laid out over the floor, covered with colourful rugs and blankets. Plastic boxes of toys and teddies were stacked up in the corner.  
Everything burst with colour and was meant for children, but there were no actual children.  
"Where are all the children?"  
Betty asked as Mama Felicia made her way toward a large chair at the other end of the room.  
"Eating upstairs."  
She said with her back to Betty. She turned as she sat down in the large chair and motioned for Betty to sit too. Not seeing any other option Betty sat down on the mats on the floor, making herself comfortable. She felt like a small child and lifted her head to look up to Mama Felicia. Mama Felicia was waiting for her to start.  
"Um, I was kinda expecting you to be older."  
Betty said, at loss for anything else. The kind woman smiled and seemed to relax a little further in her chair.  
"Many people think that. They don't believe a young woman would devote her life to children the way I do. They assume we only do once we are old and frail and have nothing else to live for. Most of us start young."  
Betty admired that. To be sure you wanted to devote your life to something.  
"What made you decide?"  
She asked, trying to make it not sound like an interview.  
"Mama Felicia was a bedtime story everyone knew, every little child on the street prayed to, looked out for. So when she died I volunteered to take her place. And there was no one to object."  
She said with a warm smile. Betty returned it.  
"Sweet Pea told me all about you,"  
Betty said as explanation for being here. Mama Felicia didn't look surprised.  
"And he in turn has told me all about you."  
"You know him?"  
"Of course," she said, smiling fondly. "He came here all the time as a young child. He was 8 when his Mama Felicia passed away, he didn't trust me one bit when I came."  
She laughed briefly.  
"He would protect the younger children, always watching them, Fangs especially. Eventually, he trusted me and let me be his Mama Felicia. He left when he was 12, for good, almost. He comes every now and then, with a new child, a thought he can't shake, in need of some motherly advice or to bring me presents."  
Betty never had an idea of just how personal this place was to him. She felt like an intruder.  
"And last time he was here he told me all about you, I recognised you instantly." she continued, "But tell me, why are you here?"  
She asked curiously but kindly. Betty took a deep breath, remembering what she'd talked about with her mother. She probably shouldn't have declined her mother's offer to come with her.  
"I um," the words came with a stutter. "I wanted to talk to you about the children and ask how we could help them."  
Mama Felicia didn't say anything as she thought, her kind smile faded for a look of consideration. She was weighing Betty's offer.  
"Northsiders? Northsiders want to help?"  
She asked, not as incredulous as Betty thought she might. Maybe she believed in both sides united as well. Maybe there were more such people out there. Northsiders and Southsiders alike.


	42. Yellow flower

Gladys woke up with a gasp upon her lips. She heaved in heavy breaths and sat up in her bed. Her eyes were frantic, open wide as if she could see through the dark. She scrambled to get the sheets off her and sat up in her bed. She felt heat like a second skin clamming onto her. She wiped her face, rubbing her eyes, trying to drive the images of her dreams out. She swiped away the hair plastered to her face and reached for the lamp. She fumbled for the switch and managed to turn it on. The room became visible and she was painfully reminded she wasn't in Toledo anymore but in a cheap hotel room in Riverdale, just on the border with Greendale.

She stood and walked over to the bathroom, urgently needing a glass of water. Flashes of her dream came back to her. Most people's dreams faded when they woke, but hers haunted her for a long time after.

Gladys and her sister as children, playing along the tracks, pretending they were trains who would travel miles and miles, away from Toledo.

She reached the bathroom and gently pushed it open, her fingers barley brushing the door. She reached for the sink and didn't even look up in the mirror as she opened the tap and filled her hands with water. She splashed it into her face as the image resurfaced again.

Gladys and her sister, Rosa, leaving Toledo for good. In the car, heading for Riverdale. They were supposed to have stayed the night, but they stayed for so much longer. Why couldn't they just have stayed for the night?

She wet her face again and straightened up, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked a mess. She opened the shower curtain and twisted the tap. She let the water run, letting the clatter of the water hitting the porcelain floor distract her. She pulled off her sweaty pajamas that clung to her skin and stepped into the shower. The cold water hit her and she welcomed it. But it wasn't enough to drive away her thoughts.

Rosa's dead. Because of her.

Jughead woke up and yawned. He tried to stretch but found himself confined to something. He opened his eyes and found he was staring up at a ceiling that definitely wasn't from his room. The new or old one. He felt a hot weight against him and found he'd once again woken up with Betty. He smiled and would have stayed where he was and let her sleep had she not been killing his arm. His arm was under her side and he was in desperate need to move it. He involuntarily groaned in pain and she turned around. She seemed extremely surprised to find him in her bed and he smiled at her comical expression. She sat up abruptly and looked around. He was incredibly grateful she no longer lay on his arm and sat up as he stretched. To his surprise he found they were in the blue and gold office, lying on the sofa.

The memory of how they'd gotten here resurfaced as he looked at the papers on the floor, scribbled on in hurried writing.

After Betty's little visit to the Southside she'd headed home, planning on spending a few hours on her own before telling her mother she'd been allowed to leave the hospital. She entered using her own key and plopped herself down on the sofa, not in the mood of doing anything but lying down. Eventually she pulled out her phone and found 3 missed calls and a message from Jughead. She opened the message and frowned at the address he'd given her and felt no urge whatsoever to meet his demand to go there. She let her phone fall gently to her chest and simply lay there, staring at the ceiling. All the energy and excitement she'd felt at Mama Felicia's drained out of her. A moment later it occurred to her to check at what time he'd sent her the message. She checked Jughead's message again and realised she'd been at Mama Felicia's a lot longer than she'd realised. It was already 4 o'clock and he'd sent her the message around 2.

Oh shit.

She thought. Knowing Jughead would worry about her not answering and...

The doorbell rang.

Shit. He would probably have gone to the hospital to make sure she was alright and then not found her there.

She played the likely scenario out in her head as she headed for the door. She opened it nervously, knowing it was too early for her mother to be home. She knew almost for certain who would be standing outside, waiting for her. She almost hoped it wouldn't be him. But she realised she'd really missed Jughead.

She found him standing there, his face cast half in shadow and deep with worry. As soon as he saw her relief took over him and he took the two steps towards her in quick strides. Her hand still on the door he cupped her cheek and lifted her face up to his. He kissed her softly.

"Oh Betty, please, please don't do that. I was so worried."

He said and hugged her.

"Why didn't you tell me you could leave?" He asked, searching her eyes for answers, his hands cupping her cheeks again.

She still hadn't said a word.

"I had to do something else first," was all she offered for now. "But what was this text supposed to mean?" She continued, holding up her phone.

He forgot his own need for answers and excitement gripped him. He kissed her again, grinning wide.

"Oh, you won't believe it, Betty. It's so wonderful. Fp, he bought a house!"

She stared at him in shock, not sure she'd heard him right.

"Say that again," she said in an airy breath.

Jughead laughed.  
"He's done it! He's bought a house, for Jellybean, me and him."

"That's amazing!"

"It really is. Jellybean and I spent the whole afternoon there and I'm sure you'd love it too."

Betty grinned and just because she could and because he was so happy, and she was so happy, she kissed him.

Today she'd heard more good news then they'd had in weeks. They definitely deserved it.

"And mom's found a judge to work through the case," Jughead said and Betty laughed. She laughed because her heart felt full and Jughead would finally get what he deserved. She hugged him, gripping his tightly, grinning like a mad woman.

She was happy because Jughead had let his mother into his life again. Had started calling her mom again. She'd noticed he'd done that more and more regularly the past few days. And now Jellybean would be in his life too. Properly and officially.

"She'll be so happy, I promise," Betty whispered in Jughead's ear. She grinned again and gave him a big kiss on his cheek before pulling back.

She even felt excited to share her own news.

"Hang on a sec," she said as she headed back inside and grabbed her rucksack, lain discarded by the sofa. She put in her phone and zipped it shut as she headed back to the door. She grabbed her keys on the way and stepped out the house, locking the door behind her. Jughead grabbed her free hand and grinned as he pulled her down the steps and towards the road.

"But you still need to explain to me where you went."

Jughead said in a teasing voice as he spun her round. She giggled as he clutched unto her arm and pulled her to his chest.

"You better have a really good explanation," he said, his words holding no weight. He kissed her again, long and soft and she admitted she'd missed this. He'd visited her every day at the hospital but had never come close really, not like this. He seemed to have forgotten his plan of giving her space to heal. She didn't mind one bit.

She pulled back with a teasing grin and he groaned in complaint but she was already pulling his towards his bike, parked at the side of the road.

She got on first and pulled on the helmet hanging from the handlebars.

"Where are we going?" he asked, amused. But she didn't answer. He'd have to wait and see. He smiled and got on behind her, holding her tightly. He didn't mind a little bit of mystery.

Not an hour earlier Jellybean had been driving his bike, up and down the street outside their new house. He'd tried to play it as cool as possible but every time she'd slipped or take a tight turn he'd reached for her or winched.

But she never fell. He smiled as he remembered thinking she road like a true Jones. She'd spun and glided across the road and almost never faltered. Occasionally she'd lurch and scrape the ground, causing Jughead's heart to stop in his chest but otherwise, she was a natural.

Just like Betty.

She kicked the bike off and shot forward, swiftly moving down the streets. After a few seemingly random turns he knew exactly where they were going and wondered why. Betty drove up the school driveway and parked the bike just in front of the entrance. She removed her helmet and let him get off. He watched her curiously as she did the same and finally gave him something.

"Before I came home I went to the Southside," she said and his surprise was visible.

"You left the hospital and then went to Southside?"

He asked, not understanding why she would do that. They walked up to the entrance and she searched for the right key on her keychain.

"Have you ever heard of Mama Felicia?" Betty asked.

"What?" He asked confused and frustrated she wasn't giving him straight answers.  
"Mama Felicia. From the Southside?"

"What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, fine, yes I have."

"I went to visit her," Betty said flatly as she unlocked the door to the blue and gold. He leaned against the door as he waited but stood bolt upright at her words.

"What? How did you know where to find her? How do you even know about her?"

He asked, his head swarming with questions as he followed after her into the familiar room. She dropped her rucksack and plopped herself down on the sofa. He stood and waited for answers.

"Sweet Pea," she said in a swift breath. She clearly didn't want to think about him, "when we were looking for his bike he told me stories from the Southside, including Mama Felicia."

He nodded, ignoring the pang of jealousy he felt even now. He walked over to her and she watched his movement as he sat down next to her. He crossed his legs and looked straight at her.

"Are we going to talk about Sweet Pea ever?"

He was met by silence, her gaze downcast, staring at his laces.

"You…you don't have to talk about it with me but you should with someone. I know you never talk about it, not to Francis either."

He said gently. He reached for her and gently run his hand down her hair, taking a lock of hair and twirling it around his finger.

Betty nodded. He was right. The therapist her mother had advised her to go to had helped her a lot, but she'd never talked about Sweet Pea. She'd always skipped over it and Francis never pushed.

"Talk to me,"

he whispered and she looked up to his face again. She looked so incredibly sad he almost wished he hadn't asked. But he knew she needed to talk about it, trips to Southside weren't going to fix her, make her feel better again. He knew she wanted the distraction, to keep working and moving, like everything was normal. Because that was what Betty Cooper did. She'd tried hiding it but he noticed her flinch with every mention of his name, her casual shrug to cover it up.

"I…I saw him after my interrogation. I don't know, I just looked at him and exploded. I was so angry and I hated him. I know it's not fair but I do. He reminded me of the beach, of everything. Everything I wanted to forget. I told him I never wanted to see him again."

The memory of her pain vibrated through every word and Jughead froze. He just stopped moving.

"You told him that?"

He asked, not accusing, not judging, just disbelief.

"Yes," she said, ashamed of herself and of how she felt.

"Oh Betty, none of this is fair," he said and pulled her to him. She almost fell into him and she was shaking. She sobbed as he held her and Jughead had wanted to comfort her, but also to hide his shocked expression. What on earth that she done? Did she have any idea what that would do to him. Jughead had an idea, but it wasn't all her fault.

He felt a stab of guilt in his chest. He had Betty and Betty had him, Veronica, her mom, Archie, but who did Sweet Pea have? He'd visited him of course, tried to help him but he should have tried harder. He'd do better.

"What did I do?"

She asked and he stroked her back.

"You did what was best for you. That's all."

Betty pulled away and wiped at her eyes. She sniffed, wiping her hand under her nose before trying for a smile. It wasn't very convincing.

"I want to show you something, not lie here crying," she said and wiped away the rest of her tears. He sat up as she retrieved her rucksack and pulled out a plastic-wrapped file. She handed it to him and he flipped it open.

"I didn't tell you because…because I didn't dare to believe this might actually work. My mother and I, we want to help the Southsiders and convince other Northsiders to do the same. I visited her and showed her my idea and she agreed."

Jughead listened to her and marvelled at what he found in the files, 10 kids and 10 Northside families. Those were amazing numbers. Betty continued talking about her plan and how she'd gotten those Northsiders to volunteer and all Mama Felicia had given and told her.

"Betty, this is amazing. When on earth did you have time to do all this!"

He said with a grin, the file open in his lap.

"I've been thinking about this for quite a while…Even before the accident, but those last few days in the hospital have given me a chance to finish."

She'd been working, hard by the looks of it, instead of resting and taking care of herself like she should have been, Jughead thought sadly. His grin fell.  
"Betty, you're not overworking yourself are you?"

He asked and she instantly tightened up.

"What do you mean?"

She asked and he really couldn't tell if she even knew what she was doing.

"Betty, I know you. Once you were so nervous about a class speech you wrote two essays about otters instead. I'm not saying it's exactly the same but I think you overwork yourself to get away from dealing with your pain."

He said but she shook her head.

"It's not that," She jumped up in frustration, "It's that every time I close my goddamned eyes I'm back on that fucking beach!"

She yelled out.

"Every waking second I'm in pain unless I work. I'll work my ass off if it means I can be free of that."

She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before heading to the door. Jughead jumped up and ran after her. He grabbed her hand and kept her from walking away. She stopped but didn't turn around.  
"I just want you to stop hurting. To heal. I just want you to let me help you."

"I can't just sit around,"

"I'm not asking you to. You just need to give yourself more time to take care of yourself."

She turned and he gently tugged her back to the sofa.

"But I need to…"

She protested but he shook his head.

"I'm sure you do, but not today. Not now at least."

He'd noticed the drag in her step, the bags under her eyes and dreaded to think of the last time she'd had a proper night's sleep. He sat down again and to his surprise she climbed on top of his lap, her knees coming on either side of his legs. She sat and lazily lifted her hands to his face, he watched her as her nails gently traced over his neck. It tickled pleasantly. She lifted his face and bent down to slowly bring a kiss to the corner of his mouth and then the other. Slow, sleepy movements that made the comfort of sleep start to set in his stomach. He nibbled her back as she kissed him again. She smiled and he leant back into the cushions of the sofa, sinking further in.

He made slow and brood circles over her back with his hands and her eyelids drooped. She gave him another slow kiss she didn't manage to open them again afterwards.

"Tell my mother I'll see her tomorrow."

She mumbled as she yawned. Betty should text her but she was just too tired and too comfortable. He mumbled something she missed as she fell asleep, her head rested on his shoulder and her arms comfortable wrapped around his neck. The arms wrapped over her back went limp as she soon followed suit, having just sent a message to Alice Cooper.

Gladys got into one of Riverdale's hire cars she'd just rented out the other day and sat behind the steering wheel. She fell back against the headrest and breathed deeply.

The images of her nightmare were still plaguing her. She decided it was time and that she would visit her sister's grave today, enough putting it off. She wasn't sure it would relieve her of all the nightmares but still...

She'd been having them for the four few days, every day and no matter what she did, they wouldn't go away. Nightmares of all those years ago when Gladys joined the Serpents, following the footsteps of the man she loved. Only she had never fathomed that her sister would too. Behind her back, Rosa joined and there was no way back.

Maybe if Rosa hadn't joined she'd be alive right now. Maybe if Gladys never had. Maybe if Gladys had tried harder to get her out. Few escaped, she knew that but she'd managed it, she should have tried harder for her sister.

Gladys drove those thoughts away and started the car, only to turn it off as abruptly as she started it. She realised she had no idea where she should go. Could she just go to the new house and assume she was welcome? Or straight to the hospital where Jellybean was.

As much as Jellybean had begged she hadn't been allowed to stay the night with Fp and Jughead at the new house. She was thinking back to her daughter's pleading words when her phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket and answered.

"Hello, Gladys Jones here, who is this?"

She said automatically.

"Hey Gladys, it's me." Gladys was surprised to find Fp saying, "I was wondering whether you'd…um, want to come to the house dis morning for breakfast."

He offered and she realised how hungry she was. Besides, breakfast with her son would be nice.

"Yeah, definitely, sounds great. I'll be there within half an hour."

"Great," he said, sounding slightly surprised by her acceptance of the offer. "See you then."

"Right, bye." "Bye."

She hung up the phone and chucked her phone onto the dashboard before starting her car again. She was glad to have a plan for the day, breakfast with Fp and Jughead, visit Jellybean afterwards and then she'd be flexible for the afternoon. She bit her lip as she contemplated maybe visiting Alice Cooper. If she'd have her. Gladys knew she hadn't only left Fp and Jughead when she left town, she'd left her best friend too. But she really hoped their relationship could be restored.

And since their children were together it would give them an excuse to rekindle their relationship. Gladys could hardly believe the chance their children got together in the first place. But Riverdale was a small town after all. Gladys reversed out of the hotel parking and headed to the left, towards Fp's house.

Jellybean was sick to death of this stupid room. She was itching to get out and was overjoyed at any opportunity to do so. Tomorrow she would be allowed leave officially, with regular check-ins of course but still. She'd be allowed to stay at the house as long as she kept seeing the councilor. Those were the conditions. But Jellybean liked her well enough.

She and Betty shared the same one since this town was so small. She wasn't sure she liked that one woman knew everything about her and Betty, everything that had happened back to back.

Because of Kath, she had an excuse to leave.

Kath visited Jellybean in the morning, given it was a Saturday and had been granted permission to take Jellybean to the park. Jellybean was overjoyed and terribly excited, this was their actual first date and she hadn't had the chance to visit the park she loved so much since she'd come back.

Going with Kath would be amazing she knew and she dared to hope they'd do this more often the longer she stayed. She hoped Kath had the same idea.

She grabbed her crutches, nothing more than an extension to her arm now and left the room. She headed out into the waiting room and thanked Rachel as she complimented her on her dress. Jellybean didn't know why she'd brought the lovely dress she'd bought a few months ago with her but she was glad she had. She wore it now and loved it.

It was nothing all too special but she loved the flowery pattern and the deep red and yellows. She signed herself out and realised she was going to miss Rachel and Alice when she left, two lovely women who worked at the hospital.

Her mother was waiting for her in the car when she pushed the exit door open. Gladys helped her get in when she reached her. Her mother had agreed to take her, the distance too far to walk, but only on the condition that they'd get coffee together later. Jellybean didn't mind one bit. She thanked her mother again for taking her as they arrived just in time. She kissed her mother goodbye and got out of the car.

She crossed the walkway and passed through the little black gate she vaguely remembered. She followed the pebbled path through the park and looked at everything she could. Seeing everything that was the same, that was new and different and things she'd forgotten were there. Many pleasant memories resurfaced.

She saw Kath before Kath saw her.

Kath had told her to meet her at the bleu dragon, a wide stone structure shaped like a dragon and for some reason, painted blue. She'd always loved playing on it as a child and play out stories with Alice about princesses who needed saving from tall towers. She remembered almost always playing the brave knight.

She found Kath sitting on its snout, scrolling through something on her phone. Jellybean grinned and approached her eagerly. Kath must have heard or sensed her because she looked up and when she spotted her she smiled widely. Kath stood up and walked over.

"You look beautiful," she said and Jellybean grinned wider, flattered.

That beauty should mean anything was shallow she knew but still…To hear Kath say it, despite Jellybean's crutches and fading bruises made her heart sore. She knew she was by no means special looking but if Kath thought she was beautiful that was enough.

Kath had never been one for dresses and wore her usual jeans and a tank top. Jellybean thought she looked beautiful too. Jellybean noticed Kath had one hand behind her back but before she asked Kath revealed it and held up a sweet yellow flower. Kath smiled as she took a step closer and placed it in behind Jellybean's ear.

"Thank you.' Jellybean said, her heart hammering in her chest at how close they were. You'd think being friends would her for all these years would have made her immune. But no.

Jellybean took Kath's hands in hers and kissed her softly. It made her heart jump and her stomach twist but it was perfect. The soft brush of her lips an answer to a long-awaited call. Kath tilted her head up ever so slightly and kissed her back. And too quickly it was over. The world settled around her again and Jellybean bit her lip. It scared and frightened her at the same time, she didn't want to mess up.

Kath looked nervous too and a little sad. Jellybean's stomach jolted again but it wasn't in a good way. What had she done? Had she done something wrong? Should she not have kissed her? But she didn't dare voice any of those questions.

But Kath smiled again and pulled Jellybean back to the dragon. Kath gave Jellybean a little help getting up on the snout but didn't try too hard, letting her move for herself. It made Jellybean feel a lot less clumsy and awkward and she plopped down semi-gracefully next to Kath, shoulder touching shoulder. She made herself more comfortable, both their legs dangling over the edge. Jellybean couldn't image a place she'd rather be than right here, right now, with Kath.

The two of them spent ages sitting on that snoot, talking and laughing, sharing stories and talking about memes. Talking about books and movies, imitating their teachers and about everything else. Everything and nothing.

Jellybean had always loved that, talking about nothing with someone who means something. Who meant so much. Jellybean was grabbed from her thoughts when Kath suddenly jumped up off the dragon without an explanation. Jellybean watched her in confusion and Kath offered her and hand.

"Come on!"

Kath urged her and Jellybean took her hand. Even after standing back on the solid ground Kath didn't let go of her hand. She smiled at their linked figures as Kath picked up Jellybean's right crutch, which she'd happily chucked in the grass. Jellybean picked up her left and when Kath didn't hand her her crutch back she leant on Kath instead. That must have been her plan because she smiled and started walking. Jellybean appreciated the slow pace as they began walking down the small winded path leading further into the park. To Jellybean's delight they came across an ice cream truck. Kath had known all along.

"Hey! You could have told me there was an ice cream truck so close by!"

Jellybean said frowning and playfully hit her friend. Kath shrugged,

"and ruin the lovely surprise? I think not."

She said and they walked up to the ice cream truck. They each got two huge scoops and because Jellybean didn't have any money Kath paid. They happily walked along and shared their ice creams, both agreeing the mango sorbet was the absolute best. They fought lightly over who should get the last bit. But when Kath was arguing why she should have it Jellybean simply lunged for it and took the last bite. Kath cried in outrage but there was nothing she could do. Jellybean grinned in victory and Kath scowled.

They continued walking on and chatted but Kath must have noticed the slight slow in Jellybean's pace because she suggested they stop and sit on one of the benches set out across the paths, all dedicated to different people. Jellybean was grateful for the rest, she hadn't had any exercise since breaking her foot and using crutches was exhausting. For a while conversation stilled between them, but it wasn't awkward, it was a comfortable silence where they simply enjoyed each other's presence and the beautiful park. Jellybean watched a butterfly bounce from a flower and flutter to another when Kath put her hand over hers. When Jellybean looked up to her friend her warm smile fell. Kath was looking at her in dreadful sadness.

She'd suspected something was wrong but she'd allowed her happiness to ignore it, cast it aside. She turned to her friend completely.

"Kath, what's wrong?"

Kath look turned determined and Jellybean tried her best to brace herself.

"Jellybean, I have to go."

What?

"I have to go back. My father called to tell me to."

Jellybean would have jumped to her feet where it not for her stupid foot and her stupid ass crutches.

"But, why!? Why now!"

She blurted out once she got over the shock of the news. Kath couldn't leave. Not now. Not when everything was finally going well. When they had time to spend with each other.

"I don't know. He just wants me back. To settle back into Toledo before I'm gone too long I think."

She said and Jellybean shook her head, tears burning behind her eyes.

"No. You can't."

"Jellybean, I don't want to but…"

"Was that all this was for? The afternoon. Goodbye?"

Jellybean said, emotion rising in her voice. Kath hadn't been nice, she'd just wanted to say goodbye and she pitied her. Jellybean could feel it, how Kath pitied her. She didn't want her to. Kath grabbed her hands.

"No, of course not. I wanted to do this since the day I arrived, I just thought this might be the last chance we get."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

Jellybean's heart fell. Tomorrow. Today was all she got till she saw Kath for God knows how long.

"How long have you know?"

She asked flatly and Kath looked as sad as Jellybean felt.

"Yesterday afternoon I got the call."

"But why? Why do you have to leave now?!"

Jellybean said upset and Kath hopelessly tried to comfort her.  
"I'll see you again as soon as I can. I promise but I need to go. I can't ignore what he told me."

She said, her forehead creasing in worry and apology. But Jellybean wasn't in a forgiving mood. She looked away and Kath pulled her into a hug.  
"I'm sorry. But please, can we not ruin today?"

Jellybean nodded into her shoulder.  
"Okay."

Kath pulled her tighter and Jellybean didn't see the tear rolling down Kath's cheek. The tear she shed for lying to her best friend, but if she really knew why she was leaving, Kath knew Jellybean would object and convince her to stay.

The yellow flower fluttered to the floor when Jellybean finally pulled away.


	43. Goodbye Rosa

Gladys reached the house within half an hour. She didn't notice the absence of Jughead's bike as she parked her car. She got out and walked up the short stone path to the door. She rang the doorbell and Fp opened, grinning wide. Gladys thought that grin had always suited him. She grinned back and stepped inside.

"Hey, how are you?"

She asked as she walked in and put her handbag down on the floor by the door.  
"Great thanks. You?"

He said but she almost missed it because just then her eyes fell on the kitchen table. Set for two people. She whipped her head round to him.  
"Where's Jughead?"

Fp's own smile faded a little as he realised his mistake.  
"He sent a text saying he was staying with Betty. I...I thought he sent one to you too."

He said awkwardly. And Gladys knew Jughead definitely hadn't told her.

"Oh, yes, of course, I completely forgot!"

Gladys said with a laugh and relief filled Fp's eyes. She'd offer him this kindness.

She walked over to the kitchen table and took the seat on the other side of the table.

"So, what's for breakfast?"

She asked lightly, smiling and with a hungry expression on her face. Fp loved that smile.  
"Well," he said and walked into the kitchen. He came back with a pan. He showed Gladys the content. "Eggs in an omelette with cheese, ham and tomato."

The same breakfast he'd made for years up until he'd always been out too late or too hung over. But she didn't let the memory taint it. She grinned because she still, after all these years didn't know what the secret ingredient was that made it the most delicious breakfast she'd ever had.

She scraped the rest of her plate as Fp licked his.

"So, why'd you invite me over?" She asked, genuinely interested. He put his plate back down on the table before answering.

"Because I wanted to ask you something…"

He said and her heart thundered in her chest. Oh no, he didn't think…

"I think you shouldn't stay at the hotel anymore."

What? Was he kicking her out of town? She couldn't believe it.

"It doesn't make any sense for you to drive over from the hotel every day. Stay here, there's a guest bedroom. I know Jellybean and Jughead will love it." He grinned, "and I don't mind making another omelette every morning."

He would let her into his house, let her back into Jughead's life completely. She'd noticed it, over the last week, his resistance to let her stay too long with Jughead. He was afraid she'd leave and leave their son shattered again. She stood and walked over to him, he stood too and met her halfway as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she said, for she'd never believed he would allow her to connect with Jughead like this again. She wondered if he had any part in him suddenly calling her mom again. She'd been overjoyed.

"Thank you."

She said again and Fp hugged her back too, his cooking apron still on and smelling like cheese and ham.

Jughead could hardly believe he'd actually managed to sleep through the whole night. Maybe Betty hadn't been the only one in need of a few hours of sleep. He turned towards her and with a gentle hand on her shoulder turned her over to face him. She let him move her but didn't open her eyes though he knew she wasn't asleep anymore.

"Betty," he whispered.

"Mmmhh."

She said, mildly interested. He smiled,

"I was thinking, do you want to help me move into the new house?"

He asked and while her eyes stayed closed, she smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

She did and sat up, rubbing her eyes before finally opening them.

"When do you want to move in?"

She asked with a smile but before he could answer she groaned.

"You let me fall asleep in my clothes!?"

She complained, feeling uncomfortable. He could see why, since she was wearing jeans.

"Would you have preferred for me to have taken them off?"

He teased with a sly smile and her cheeks tinged red ever so slightly. He laughed and she pushed him away from her. He laughed but abruptly stopped when she shoved him again. To her delight, he cried out as he fell right off the sofa. She climbed off more gracefully and laughed at where he lay on the floor, moaning quietly. It wasn't a far fall but definitely not a soft one. He cursed Riverdale High for its stone floors. Once she was done laughing she offered a hand and pulled him up. He couldn't help smile too but didn't let her see. He brushed off the non-existent dust on his pants and made sure he had everything before walking towards the door.

"I was thinking maybe now."

He said with a smile breaking into a smirk. She looked up at him.  
"But the paperwork, I need…"

Any other day he would have taken her excuses and let her work. Who was he to stop her? But not today.

"Timmy can wait, I can't."

He said and she rolled her eyes but still picked up her rucksack and brushed all the papers on the floor back into a neat pile. She picked them up and put them in her rucksack as she approached the door.

"Fine," she said annoyed though he could tell she wanted to help him.

"Love you," he said and she stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed as she passed through the door he kept open for her. He closed and locked it behind her with the keys she tossed to him. He handed them back as they strolled down the corridor again, hand in hand. Soon after they were back on the bike and this time Jughead was behind the wheel and drove them to Sunnyside trailer park.

His father must have been there since moving into the new house because everything there was half packed into boxes, including some of Jughead's stuff. They could only carry two boxes between them but it was a good start. He threw together a box of the stuff he'd need most to live in the other house, clothes mostly. Betty tossed him a teddy bear she'd found wedged behind the sofa.

"Don't forget him!"

She said with a grin and Jughead sent her a fake dirty look. She ignored him and turned back to taping the box he'd passed her shut.

He held the bear in his hands and realised he hadn't seen this guy for years. He had been sure his father had thrown it out. He tossed in the box when Betty wasn't looking. He looked around an old cupboard, seeing if any of his stuff was still in there when he noticed a box.

He frowned, he'd never seen the box before. It wasn't a moving box but more the type people had in offices, flatter and labelled 'pictures'. He picked it up curiously, anxious to see what was inside. He lifted the lid and found, as expected, the box to be filled with pictures. Loose ones just shucked together, envelopes full of them and a photo book. He ruffled through them and turned a few over to inspect. He smiled at the pictures of Jellybean's 6th birthday, her actual birthday and pictures of the four of them making pizza. There were so many of them. He kept looking and grinned at all the wonderful memories. He wondered what they were doing in a box and not hung around the house or put into frames. He should bring some to the new house he thought as he looked through a pile.

His smile fell when he noticed the change in photos. Gladys and Fp were younger now, not much older than he was. They stood by the White Worm, the paint still fresh and were leaning against a motorbike. Fp wore his Serpent jacket, no surprise, but so did Gladys.

Was she really wearing a Serpent jacket or was it just any other black jacket? Was it someone else's? He skipped over the picture and looked at the next one. It was them again and this time it was unmistakable. They posed for the photo, showing off their Serpent glad backs as their hands lay entwined on the table they sat at.

"Hey, you find something?"

Betty's voice came from behind him. He immediately dropped the picture back in the box and shuffled the other pictures around, burying it.

"Yes," he said as he turned around, box in hand, "a box full of pictures."

He said with a smile, forcing himself to think of the other pictures in the box. Betty's eyes lit up in surprise and excitement.

"Really? Let me see."

She said and walked over. He held it out for her and wished to God she would pick up any other picture than the one he'd just seen. She looked through it and laughed,

"this is amazing! I had no idea you had all these pictures!"

She said, looking through a few and showing him one she found of the two of them, barely two years old and playing together. He smiled happily.

"You should definitely take this!"

She said but he shook his head.

"I need to ask my dad first, maybe he hid them for a reason."

"Alright,"

Betty said and shrugged. She picked up the box and reached for the door handle.

"Should we go?"

She asked and he nodded, picking up his own box and placing the box of pictures back in the cupboard, but not before taking one out first and slipping it into his box.

They walked out with the two boxes and headed over to Jughead's bike. Betty tied one down tightly at the back and carried the other on her lap as they drove. She could really only hold on with one hand. Jughead drove as cautiously as he could. They neared the new house when Jughead noticed an unusual house in the driveway. As they approached he recognised it as the hire car Gladys had. He frowned. What was she doing here? But he was pleasantly surprised. He parked next to the car and they both carefully got off. He untied the box and carried it up the driveway. Betty waited for him and they both walked up to the house with their boxes. Betty looked around amazed and smiled as Jughead gestured for her to ring the doorbell. She gently set the box down and did as instructed. Fp opened the door and welcomed them with a smile. For some reason, he was wearing an apron. He was happy to see Betty on her feet again. He stepped forward and gave her a light but meaningful hug.

"I'm glad you're better," he said and not knowing how to respond she just smiled. She realised she couldn't recall ever being hugged by Fp before.

Fp opened the door wider and she picked up the box again. Jughead walked in first and set the box down near the door, Betty followed suit. She noticed the woman in the kitchen before Jughead did.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Jughead asked, delight in his voice. Gladys had been busily washing the dishes before she looked over her shoulder.

"Hey Jughead, I just came for some breakfast." Her gaze drifted to Betty, "nice to see you again Betty."

"Likewise."

Jughead walked into the kitchen but Betty noticed an odd look on his face, worry, fear and possibly something else. So she didn't follow. Not sure what else to do she turned to Fp.

"Where can I put these?"

She asked, referring to the boxes. He seemed to understand Gladys and Jughead needed a little time along too and picked up the other box.  
"Follow me," he said and walked towards the stairs and Betty followed with her own box in her arms. She glanced over at Jughead and saw he was talking with a serious expression to Gladys. She looked away.

He wished he could say he was overjoyed to have seen his mother. But more than anything Jughead felt afraid. They hadn't heard from the police sine the investigations but it worried him, the possibility of his mother getting caught. He'd just gotten her back; he wouldn't lose her again. And he would, she'd be sent to jail but God knows how long. Was there so such thing as an act of defending a child and not be called a murderer? He didn't know.

"Hey mom," Jughead said as he approached her and picked up the wet dish she'd just washed.

"Hey Jughead," she said, giving him a side glance. He plucked up the towel and began drying the plate.

"What's on your mind?" she asked a little worried.

"Mom, I'm worried about the investigation."

She set the plate she'd been about to wash back into the washbowl and turned to face him. He met her gaze and she looked at him sadly.

"Me too. But I'm sure it will turn out just fine, Fp knows what he's doing."

"He's done this before?" he asked slightly shocked and Gladys didn't answer.  
"All I mean is he got rid of the gun and set up a trail leading, eventually, nowhere but far away from here anyway. It'll be alright."

"But what if someone else saw and steps forward?"

Jughead asked, his mind racing. There was no way this was going to end well; the town's horrible luck wouldn't allow it. Gladys pulled her gloves off and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Look at me Jughead," she said sternly but lovingly. "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to prison either. I'm going to stay in town at least until all of this blows over, and it will."

He nodded and she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. She knew this wasn't easy on him.

"We'll hear from them soon and they'll tell us we're not no longer suspects to this crime, I swear."

It wasn't a promise she could keep but the investigators silence probably meant that they possibly didn't have evidence to accuse any of them.

"Now enough of that," Gladys said in a cheery voice, trying to lift his spirit. "Help Betty with your boxes and by the way, I'm moving in too. So make space for me!"

She said, pointing the dishwashing brush at him. He laughed,

"you are? Really!? That's amazing!" He said happily.

"I know, Fp invited me to, so I can get to see you more."

"I'd like that a lot."

He said still grinning.

"Great, but first go help Betty!"

She said in a fake stern voice. He smiled but did as he was told and left the kitchen.

Betty set the second box down in Jughead's room and started unpacking it, placing his typewriter on the desk and a few books into his bookcase. She bent down and picked up a small pile from the box. She was looking through the volumes when she felt two strong arms wrap around her middle. She smiled and leant back against the body behind her. His chin came down onto her shoulder.

"Thank you for helping me unpack," Jughead whispered into her ear but she just shrugged,

"no problem."

He turned her around and lifted her chin with her finger.

"I mean it, thank you." He said seriously.

"And I mean it, no problem," she said smiling and he pulled her even closer. She smiled wide and kissed him. He opened for her and she opened for him. He kissed her lovingly. God, he had missed her, everything about her. She kissed him back just as hard. Harder. The taste of him drove her crazy. Eventually, she forced herself to slowly pull away, there were plenty of other things to do.

"Come on," she said and turned back to the open box. She noticed the bear in the box and laughed,

"ohhh, you did bring him." She said smiling and he grumbled before taking it off her and with care placed it on top of the bookshelf. She laughed, "I'm only teasing."

Jellybean and Kath stood together at the gate of the beautiful park. Shortly after their talk, they'd walked back together, the mood much more sombre, but Kath had tried to lift Jellybean's spirit. It had worked a little. The gate had come into view and they'd both slowed, dragging out the inevitable. But now they reached it, nothing but the road and the rest of the town in front of them. A promise that tomorrow would come. They both froze and looked at each other. What now? Would they go separate ways? Spend the last few hours together? Jellybean couldn't voice her questions. If she was honest she knew she just wanted to go home. She was tired of walking so much and wanted to sleep. And a part of her was sick of asking for permission, making decisions, chasing people. Couldn't someone else do it for her for once? But Kath said nothing.

"I'll call my mom to come and pick me up," Jellybean said, "do you need a lift?"

She said and Kath sighed,

"no, it's fine. Zoe lives close."

"Alright."

To say it was awkward was an understatement Jellybean thought.

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

Jellybean hoped Kath would say but the truth was, people, didn't always say the right things. They didn't say what you want to hear. Jellybean waited but the words didn't come. So she turned around and walked away, pulling out her phone.

She called her mom and waited for her to pick up. It took a while but eventually, she did.

"Hey, sweetie, everything alright?"

Gladys' voice came over the phone but it was different to usual, thicker. Like she had something in her throat. Jellybean frowned.  
"Mom, what's up with your voice?"

She blurted out and her mother coughed and she sounded normal again.

"Oh, nothing, just one of those things. Do you want me to come and get you, it's almost 5?"

"Yes please,"

"Jellybean, what's wrong? You were so excited, what happened?"

At the sound of her mother's worried voice, Jellybean's lip quivered but she swallowed.

"Nothing important, I'll talk to you about it later."

"You sure?"  
"Yeah, I'm sure. When can you be here?"  
"Ten minutes, honey."  
"Ok, see you then."

She said and they said their goodbyes. She hung up the phone and turned to find Kath still there.

"Well, I have ten minutes to wait."

She said, sniffing a little. Though she wished to hell she wasn't on the verge of more tears. Kath came closer and she must have looked a lot worse than she thought because Kath wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Jellybean clutched her and wished she'd never have to let go, that this hug would always stay with her. Keep her warm.

"You're going to be so happy here."

Kath said and Jellybean sniffed.

"I'm going to miss you,"

"you better!"

Jellybean laughed and when they pulled away there was no promise of tomorrow, no promise of anything after that but it was enough.  
"Bye Kath,"

"Bye Jellybean,"

Kath kissed her cheek before pulling away for the last time and walked down the footpath leading down the hill, where somewhere in the centre of town Zoe's house was. Jellybean sat down on the curb and waited for her mother. She looked down into a puddle and finally, tears fell. She didn't even feel the first one. It slid from her eye into the puddle without touching her. The next slid down her cheek and dripped from her cheek. She could wipe them away but she let them fall. What would be the point? Who would she be wiping them for? Not for herself and not for anyone else, she was on her own. Kath had come for her but now she was better, of course, she would go. Jellybean had always known it, so why did it still hurt so much? Why did it feel like Kath was leaving her when Jellybean was the one to run away? Like Achilles waiting for Patroclus in the woods, had she known Kath would come? She tried not to think of that, tried to direct her thoughts to the great afternoon they'd had.

Eventually, she gave up her efforts and let the sadness swallow her. A car pulled up next to the curb and through the sadness fear punched in her stomach. Alone of the curb and a car. She tried to keep her thoughts from drifting to the worst moments of her life. It helped that her mother just then stepped out of the car and she was reminded that Penny was dead and no one wanted to hurt her. Her mother ran over, afraid Jellybean was hurt.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"  
She asked urgently and worried. Jellybean shook her head and her mother leant down to give her a hug. Jellybean clung on to her and stood up, crying into her mother's chest.

"Oh, honey, what happened? Did you and Kath fall out?"

Her mother tried to get her to speak, Jellybean shook her head.  
"No, but she's leaving. She has to go back."

Jellybean said between desperate breaths and Gladys stroked her hair.

"I'm so sorry Jellybean, but you'll see her soon! Remember that. And you have all this time to spend with Zoe and your brother and father. And I'll be here too for a while of course."

Jellybean nodded, remembering what Gladys had told her about moving into the guest bedroom in the new house.

"Okay."

She said.

"C'mon, let's go get that coffee. Just the two of us."

Jellybean nodded again and got in in the backseat of the car. She could sit at the front but it had become a habit as a child to always sit in the front. She put her seatbelt on and her exhaustion hit her like a wave. A wave knocked her over. She let her head fall against the headrest behind her and her eyelids drooped. Her mother glanced at her through her mirrors.

Poor girl. Gladys had debated telling Jellybean about Rosa but after visiting her grave and now that Jellybean was so upset she decided she wouldn't. She'd keep this her own secret to the grave. She looked ahead to the road again and thought about the roses she'd brought for Rosa. She'd been at her grave when Jellybean had called her. Gladys thought back over all she'd said.

Fp and Jughead had been going backwards and forwards between the trailer and the new house, bringing in their stuff but since Gladys had brought nothing with her from Toledo she had nothing to do. She'd offer to help but she could tell they took joy in doing it themselves. So she made an excuse that she'd do some shopping, get some more food and left. Fp tossed her her own set of keys and she caught them with ease. She got in her car and didn't go towards the supermarket. She turned left, driving down the twisted roads of Riverdale. She could hardly remember the way, she'd only ever been to the graveyard once.

She took the road running along the tracks and when the tracks twisted she kept going. She was almost there. She always loved that the graveyard was on South and Northside, no border between it. United only in death. Ironic she supposed. She stopped the car, parking it on the grass just outside the fence of the graveyard and got out. She promised herself she would do this but she still felt nervous. She slammed the door shut behind her and opened the boot. She opened the cool box and picked up the bouquet of roses she'd bought from inside. She also pulled out the knife. It had been a last minute decision but she thought Rosa deserved it. She closed the boot again and hid the knife in the flowers, just in case someone else was at the graveyard. She stepped through the unkempt grass and reached the short gate, the only break in the fence. The graveyard lay beyond.

She opened it and carefully closed it behind her again, it squeaked as it shut. The sky was still high in the sky and the graveyard didn't look any bit as sinister as people always expected it to be. The grass was low cut and most of the graves rather recent, still a shining gleam to their stone. She walked through them, not sure what she was looking for. Would her sister's name be on her grave? So she looked for dates and her nickname instead. She couldn't even be certain she'd be here. Gladys had been too much of a coward to come to the actual burial, although showing up to your victim's funeral seemed wrong somehow anyway. She kept looking through the names and the stones that looked the newest. Riverdale wasn't an old town but some had already lost their shine. She kept on strolling through and almost missed the grave she was looking for. She had a closer look and indeed, this was it. This was Rosa's grave. Her nickname was scratched across it in big letters and her lifespan beneath it. It was too short. She got on her knees before it. She wasn't wearing black or anything elegant, just a simple grey shirt and white pants. She wasn't mourning, she just came to pay her respects and maybe something else, she didn't know yet.

She pulled out the knife from the flowers and laid the roses down on the grave against the stone. It was a simple grave, the classic rounded top and no, 'loving daughter' or 'she will be missed.'

No one will miss her. Except maybe Gladys.

Gladys stared at the grave for a while before she spoke. She hadn't prepared anything but she knew there was definitely something that needed to be said. She knew almost for certain Rosa wouldn't hear her but she spoke anyway. Just letting the words tumble out.

"You're the first person I killed, you know? I never thought I'd ever have to kill someone. I sometimes thought about it and some of the people I knew definitely deserved it but to actually do it…

"All those years with Fp, being a Serpent and it had never come down to it. But then it did, years later when I left that life behind me…

"When I put on that jacket I swore I'd never kill anyone and when I pulled it off I thanked all the Gods that I hadn't. But my children meant more to me than that promise. I want you to know I never planned to kill you, would have never imagined it before that moment. You deserved to die. You had your back to me and the gun was in my hand, ready to murder anyone who hurt my son. It was so easy, I just let the shot fly and then you were gone. And I felt nothing as I watched you fall."

Her voice was soft but her words were strong as iron. And just as unforgiving.

"But why? Why when it was so easy, when you deserve it, does it hurt so damn much?!"  
She said louder, angry with herself, for the hole in her stomach and the pain at seeing her sister's gravestone.

"I see it every morning when I wake up, when I wake up from nightmares you haunt me in. I wake up screaming. Even in death, you bother me, you lurk behind me, follow me, just like when we were children. You always claw your way back to me, no matter how hard I try to leave you. Even as gang members.

I don't get it, what made you this way? So full of hate and happy to hurt people. Who did that? What happened to you to twist you so badly? What happened in those short years?

Oh Rosa, how I wish I could get you out of my head. But you're still following. Like you have since the day you were born, followed my footsteps ever since you could walk. You even followed me into the Serpents and look at you now.

Dead in the ground, and by my hands."

Gladys covered her face with her hand, trying to ease the pain that was growing there.

"Maybe I should have been there for you more. Maybe I should have tried harder. But it's too late now. But I'm here anyway, aren't I? Sitting before your grave. Maybe I'm finally following you too."

She looked down at the grass, the earth patched and fresh. She picked up the knife and looked around her to make sure there was no one there. As far as she could see it was empty except for her. She moved forward so the gravestone was only a breath's distance away. She angled the knife, the blade digging into the stone at her gentle command. As carefully and neatly as she could she wrote out her name right under the one written for her, before no one knew it.

"Rosa was always a too soft a name for you."

Gladys whispered as she blew away the little lose stones hanging in the curves of the letters she'd just scratched. She looked back and admired her work.

Definitely not as neat as the 'Penny Peabody' written beneath it but it would do. She pocketed the knife and sat back. She didn't know what else to say so she told Rosa all the memories she still had of her sister.

"Such an innocent road trip. And this is what it led to." She said with regret, "I don't know if I'd gotten into the car if I had known."

Gladys said and stood up. She wouldn't apologise for killing her because she wasn't sorry. She'd deserved it, she was only sorry Rosa had turned out this way. Gladys had been such a sorry excuse of a sister who didn't take care of her little sister enough and Rosa had followed down the rabbit hole. But Rosa had hit the ground head first. Gladys hadn't known her sister had secretly joined the Serpents until it was too late. And even when she begged her sister to leave she hadn't. Rosa, or Penny had gotten a taste for blackmail and favours and wasn't prepared to let go. Rosa shunned her for removing her jacket when she was pregnant with Jughead and seeing her on that beach was the first time Gladys had seen her in years.

Rosa had it out for Gladys kids not only because Fp had been the accident that cost her her child but because Gladys did have children. While Rosa remained all alone. Twisted and broken.

A tear slid down Gladys' cheek as she stood above the grave. Oh, what had happened to the children they once were? Two best friends, ready to conquer and see the world but all that stopped the moment they drove into Riverdale.

Riverdale, the town that damned all those in it.

Gladys turned away, turning her back on her sister and walked back out of the graveyard. She didn't see or read the names and numbers anymore, just the long line of black and gray stone. She walked on and through the gate. She walked back through the grass and opened the driver seat door. She got in and sat there, hands on the wheel but the engine stayed silent.

She stared through the window and breathed heavily.

She'd done it, she'd visited Rosa's grave. But it left her hollow. She hadn't gained any closure or sense of release. Her sister would haunt her for a long time still. She sobbed and couldn't stop. She remembered Rosa's little face, so happy and full of opportunity and chance to become someone great. Shattered. Her dreams and hopes, all those tales of going to the moon, of swimming every ocean. Shattered. The girl she once was. Shattered. The bright young woman they both were, full of purpose and excitement for the world. Shattered.

All of it gone, the pieces dragged away by the wind.

Gladys sobbed and couldn't see to stop. She tried controlling her breathing but it wouldn't work. She kept breaking through. Her phone rang and she ignored it. She kept crying and the phone kept ringing. She remembered she'd told Jellybean to call when she wanted to be picked up. Gladys reached for her phone but refused to answer until she'd composed herself. Children weren't supposed to see their parents cry. The tears eventually stopped and she stopped shaking. She sniffed and tried to regulate her breathing as much as she could before answering the phone. At least picking up Jellybean would force her out of this place, to get her thoughts straight.

She did have that. Her dreams and all she wanted to be was gone but she had her children. Her wonderful children who she'd wronged so many times but had forgiven her. She and Rosa had clearly been made from the same broken fabric but Gladys would try, God damn it, she'd try to be better than her sister. She started the car and tried the rest of her tears away.

Goodbye Rosa.


	44. To all that's to come

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews and suggestions from over the almost year this story has been going on! Thanks to my Betas IamAwriterYAY and IWriteFanFicForFun2 who have had the arduous task of looking through my work for spelling mistakes. And have done so wonderfully! Thank you so much for your help. Thank you to the many people who've read this story and maybe there's even a couple who stood by it till the end. Love you all!

Jughead couldn't find Sweet Pea anywhere. And neither he or anyone else had heard from him since the investigation. The first place he went was the hospital and they said he'd been found in at the police station, passed out against the wall. He'd been rushed to the hospital but nothing had been wrong with him other than over exhaustion and probably something to do with the stress of the questioning. Jughead didn't mention it to Betty in case she blamed herself. Sweet Pea had been out of the hospital by the next day. His grandparents had been called but neither had bothered to pick him up. He'd apparently walked home, his stitches too fragile to risk going by bike. He'd refused a lift. Jughead didn't have the faintest idea where Sweet Pea lived but Fp found him the address and Jughead went over there first thing Sunday morning. He found it easily, it being one of the few nicer houses in the Southside. He got off his bike and walked over to the entrance. He excepted for Sweet Pea's grandparents to answer but was surprised when Sweet Pea did.

Jughead was shocked at how bad Sweet Pea looked, Betty had seen better days but Sweet Pea looked like had hadn't slept in years and his hollow expression made him seem empty. Jughead noticed he'd lost a lot of weight too, so much that Sweet Pea seemed smaller, even though that was impossible. He cracked a small smile, his lips chapped and dry,

"Hey, Jughead."

"Hey, Sweet Pea. You doing okay? You don't look great." Jughead said honestly. Sweet Pea's smile grew a little.

"Thanks but yeah, I'm recovering."

He was clearly not okay but there was humour in his eyes. So at least that was something.

"I just came to make sure you were okay, you kind of disappeared on us."

Sweet Pea's smile fell and he swallowed, "Betty said she…"

"I know and I'm sorry but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about you. Or that I don't either. We're worried for you."

Sweet Pea shrugged,

"good to hear. But I'm alright really. I'll be 18 soon and it will be better than."

Jughead looked at him confused, what did age have to do with any of this.  
"My grandparents. They own the house till I'm 18. It's funny, they spend all my life despising me but now the dates so close it seems they're trying to get on my good side. They hope I'll leave them something." He smiled sarcastically, "not a chance."

"Really, you're getting all this?"

Jughead asked shocked. Sweet Pea nodded.  
"It was always mine but my grandparents cheated me out of it. But now I'm almost 18 it will be all the sweeter when I can kick them out."

Seemed fair, Jughead thought.

"So you're okay."

Sweet Pea smiled again, a warm, hopeful smile. He wasn't so broken to have lost hope.

"I will be soon. Thanks for coming."

Jughead nodded,

"of course, I'll always be there for you."

Sweet Pea smiled again and said a final goodbye Jughead returned before closing the door. Sweet Pea wasn't the terribly talkative type but Jughead didn't mind. At least he was okay, or he would be anyway. Jughead reminded himself to visit regularly. A kid alone in a house was bound to get lonely.

He honestly did think Betty had made a mistake blocking him out but it was her choice. And he was proud at Sweet Pea for stepping away so easily. He looked to the large house once more before getting back on his bike and driving away. He was confident his friend would be alright.

He got home to find his dad on the phone. Jellybean was off somewhere spending her last day with Kath, promising to be back before the Jubilee. Jughead had seen how upset she was about Kath leaving and felt sorry for her. But she'd be able to see her again soon enough. The judge had sent them a draft of the shared custody time table. She'd stay 2 weeks here, two weeks in Toledo then a week in Riverdale and a week in Toledo, on repeat. He hoped that the program wouldn't be too hard on her. Jughead was looking forward to seeing her so much.

His dad put the phone down on the counter and sighed, running his hand through his hair, a worried expression on his face.

"What's up?"

Jughead asked as he put his helmet down on the short bench where the shoes lay under.

"The Serpents." Jughead looked up at that and walked over, taking a seat at the table, "they want me to elect a new Serpent leader because of my premature so-called retirement."

A very Serpent attitude. They couldn't possibly imagine Fp left the Serpents so he must have resigned from being their king. Jughead smiled,

"not thinking of electing me are you?"

He asked jokingly but Fp looked at him seriously. Jughead's amused smile dropped.

"You are?" He asked shocked. Fp looked at him for a long moment before answering carefully.

"To be honest, it had accorded to me. Would you want to?"

Jughead was confused. He was proud to be a Serpent but to be a Serpent leader? To never, ever be allowed to leave until he was maybe 50? Did he want to commit to something like that?

"Dad, I think you're amazing, you know that. And I look up to you a lot but I can't follow your footsteps when it comes to this. I think…I think I want to go to college. With Betty. I know that's cheesy and it probably won't work out but I want to try."

Would his dad understand that? Fp nodded and smiled.

"I'm proud of you Forsythe Jones the third."

He said and Jughead tried to hide his shock.  
"I wanted the same, to get away and go to college but I couldn't. I think you will."

He said and Jughead smiled. He hadn't expected to hear any of this and realised he'd wanted to hear that for a long time. To hear his father's approval.

"You and Betty might just break the Jones' curse."

She mused and Jughead frowned. What was that supposed to mean? But Fp only shrugged and pulled out a beer from the fridge. Jughead thought back his reflex to stiffen. His father had managed it, he drank responsibly and only occasionally, Jughead had nothing to worry about. But still. No matter what Fp was doing, some of those old fears would never leave Jughead. And if Fp ever turned, which Jughead hoped to all the Gods and whoever might be listening wouldn't happen he'd get Jellybean out. No matter what he'd get her out.

He shook off the thought and went to look for something to eat for lunch. He'd skipped breakfast and was starving.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully and Gladys, Fp and Jughead had a fun afternoon of playing those silly games and watched a movie. Jughead often glanced at Gladys and felt like there was something wrong. Sometimes when she thought he wasn't watching her eyes would fill with such deep sadness. It worried him but he didn't push it.

And he never brought up anything about the picture he'd found. Some things needed to be kept a secret, and kept in the past. She didn't have to explain herself to him and he wouldn't ask. She'd given it up and never looked back as far as he could see. He wondered for what. Must have been something important to her. He looked away and turned his attention back to the TV. The film ended after a couple of minutes and he checked his phone. The Jubilee would start soon and still no sign of Jellybean. He could tell Gladys was begging to get nervous. Jughead knew Betty would be speaking about Mama Felicia tonight and wondered whether she was nervous. He'd gone over her speech with her and thought it was absolutely amazing. He called her now, to check if she needed any help or needed some cheering. But she was Betty Cooper, of course, she would absolutely kill it. He called her anyway.

"Hey Betts," he said once she picked up.

"Hey Jug, what's up?" She said, her voice sounding distracted. She was probably still editing her speech, despite him saying it was perfect from the very first draft.

"Just thought I'd check up on you. How's the speech?"

"Oh alright."

"No, it's not, it's amazing."

"Shut up," she said in an amused tone and he smiled. "But it really is, isn't it?" She added and he laughed,

"I knew you wouldn't be humble about this."

Betty laughed too.

Meanwhile, just outside the Cooper residence a little boy wearing his brand new boots and new clothes stood. He walked up to the door nervously, afraid to be turned down. He hoped they would like him. He scratched the back of his right leg with his left foot as he stopped just before the door. He bit his lip before remembering Mama Felicia scolding him for it. He tried to act as normal and casual as he could and rang the doorbell. He waited anxiously, clutching his bag of belongings tighter. His heart hammered when finally, the door opened. The woman he'd seen before appeared from behind it. She had introduced herself as Alice when she'd come to Mama Felicia's to meet him. Alice smiled warmly and Timmy smiled back, some of his nerves forgotten.

It was 6 a clock when the town hall started filling up, the big banners of '75 years of Riverdale' hung outside the entrance and on the walls. Everything was brightly lit and colourfully decorated. Music played and highlights of the years in Riverdale were celebrated. Until eventually it was 7:30 and Betty waited anxiously behind the stage for her name to be called. She clutched her notes tightly. She'd convinced Major McCoy to let her speak but she knew if she said what she'd written it might be the last time she'd be allowed to publicly speak again. She'd of course sent in the draft of the speech to be confirmed, all about Riverdale's greatness and its strong roots. That had been approved of but she had no intention to say it. She was almost insulted. She'd written the other speech in about half an hour, simply talking out of her ass and knowing what corrupt white men who think they are all powerful want to hear. Major McCoy walked up to the mike after the last performance had ended and spoke into the mike in her clear, warm voice.

"Thank you for that lovely performance! But we have just one speaker before this wonderful Jubilee will be over. Please welcome Riverdale High's star pupil and head of the school newspaper, Betty Cooper."

She said and stepped away from the mike. The audience clapped politely and Betty wondered whether they'd clap at all once she'd finished. Jughead had told her not to worry about it and that what Betty had to say was something they needed to here. Something both sides of the tracks needed. A wakening.

Betty took a deep breath and walked up to the mike in the middle of the stage. She thanked Major McCoy and placed her notes on the stand. She should have smiled at everyone and thanked them for coming but instead, she stared each and every person who would meet her gaze in the eye. She took a deep breath and began.

"Everyone, look around you. Most of you know each other because you're neighbours or he teaches your child math and you see her walking her dog every morning."

People smiled, glancing between each other fondly.

"But most of you are also Northsiders."

"Would all Northsiders please raise their hands." The majority of the hands in the room went up, at first hesitant, not sure where this was going. "Can now all Southsiders raise their hands please." The Northsiders hands fell and less then 10 new hands rose. "Look around you, but really look. Look at where you are sitting. You surround yourself with Northsiders, building a wall around you that lets no one else in and keeps the Southsiders out.

"But now I ask you, why? Why when you Northsiders filled the room did you sit at the left side of the room when you noticed the Southsiders sit on the right. Why did you move your children to the far left? Why did you not smile and wish them a happy Jubilee and have pleasant conversation with them like you did with the other Northsiders?

"This town is divided into two because of the greed of men in the past, so why aren't we united to celebrate the future? Why don't we choose to be different from the last 75 years? Because you are afraid. You assume the Southsiders are evil and violent and the Southsiders assume we are rich and corrupt.

"All those years ago a fence was put up between both sides and while that fence is gone I see in its place a wall. A wall of hatred and lies, of distrust and accusations. And why? For what?"

She let a silence fall in the room and saw the anger and shame on their faces. It pushed her to go on. Filled with a strong feeling in her gut.

"Why is the Southside blamed for all crime? Why is the Northside blamed for all corruption? After the resolved murder of Jason Blossom, I thought this town would begin to understand that everyone can do bad, and everyone can do good. Anyone can murder and anyone can love.

Why is the library and park in the Northside and almost exclusively for Northsiders? Why do Northsiders get a chance at a better education than the Southsiders? Why do the Northsiders get the better jobs?

"I'll tell you why. Because no one ever bothers to change that, no one's changed their mind stet in a hundred years. No one's said, 'enough.' Well, I have. Enough of this inequality, enough of the different sides. No more them and us. No more us or them. We are one town, it's time we start acting like one or we will tare each other apart and bring this whole town to its knees.

"Don't wait for change, make it happen."

She paused to let her message sink in. She trailed her eyes around the room and landed on little Timmy sitting next to her mom. He gave her a thumbs up and she smiled a little. She averted her gaze and continued.

"Let me tell you about a very special boy called Timmy. Timmy is eight and was born on the Southside and no one cared for him. A man found him alone on the street and brought Timmy to Mama Felicia. Mama Felicia takes care of all the little children of Southside and is adored by all,"

Betty said with a smile and Mama Felicia, one of the few Southsiders present smiled at her from the crowd.

"Mama Felicia holds maybe a hundred children while my big house remains half empty. Just me and my mom. So I visited Mama Felicia and asked whether little Timmy would want to come and have dinner with us. He showed up with his brand new clothes and shiny boots and ate with us. He stared at us and our house in amazement and told us all about himself as we made dinner. There was no hate between us, no dismissal or rank and no wall. He ate with us, eating as much as we offered, never asking for more. He thanked us kindly and fell asleep as we watched TV together. He was too young to know of the hate between the sides, to have been thought that. Your children and your children's children only believe in that hate because you teach them that. Teach them something else. Teach them kindness, forgiveness, respect. Help a child in need, offer them warmth and they will offer it to you.

"The wall doesn't exist unless you allow it to. Punch the wall to the ground and fill it with love and hope and kindness instead. Both sides a like, open your eyes and heart to the truth, that we are all equal and deserve the same privileges. Be one town once more."

She finished and waited anxiously for the response. Silence filled the hall then a single man stood. Everyone watched him as he moved from the left side of the room to the right and stopped before a Southsider. He offered the Southsider man his hand and the man stared at it in shock before slowly placing his own hand in his. The Northsider pulled him up and pulled him into a hug. The Southsider smiled and hugged him back. Another citizen of Riverdale walked up to his fellow town member and gave him a hug too. More stood, men and woman, children and elderly and hugged each other. Many stayed seated and a few left but it was a start. Betty saw a few go around and offer nearly everyone a hug until South and Northside was forgotten and everyone was hugging each other. Betty grinned, this was better than anything she'd ever hoped. Little Timmy jumped up from his seat and ran to her. He climbed up the stage and ran with his arms wide. She grinned and opened her arms too. He ran into her and hugged her tightly. She bent over and hugged him back just as tightly. She didn't know who started it but applause started to fill the hall, soft, only a few at first until the whole room was thundering with the sound. Betty grinned and picked Timmy up, placing him on her hip as she faced the audience once more. She grinned at everyone and everyone grinned back, all on their feet cheering and clapping. She looked to Timmy and nudged him towards the mike. He grinned and looked at her with wide eyes before leaning forward to the mike.

"Thank you for listening everyone!"  
He said cheerily and the applause increased and so did Betty's grin. She spotted Jughead in the crowd and he was beaming at her with the proudest smile. He noticed her gaze was on him and he winked.

Slowly everyone began walking out together, strangers getting to know each other and talking enthusiastically. Betty got down from the stage and thanked the many people who came up to congratulate her on her speech. She was still carrying Timmy and made her way towards her mom. She set him down and hugged her mom tightly.

"I'm so proud of you Betty,"

"Thanks, mom."

Betty said. Those words coming from her mother meant the world to her. Maybe she hadn't been the perfect daughter Alice had wanted but she'd made a difference and was actually changing people's lives, something she knew perfection couldn't do. She hugged her mom tightly before letting go.

"Let's go home,"

Alice said to Betty and Timmy. The Coopers each took one of Timmy's hand. The newest member to the Cooper family.

The day of the final decision was coming nearer and Jellybean was nervous. Tomorrow would be decided whether she'd be allowed to stay in Riverdale officially. The last couple of days of debating and going through papers had been hard with other people deciding what would be best for Jellybean. Some of their arguments swayed Jellybean's confidence she could stay. The woman representing the child welfare organisation seemed determined for her to go back to Toledo.  
"We think Jellybean needs something constant in her life, and after everything that's been going on in this town, I don't think she'll find it here. Going back to Toledo would be the better option, for the child."

She'd said but Gladys had jumped to Jellybean's defence and she was incredibly grateful she was on the same side as her mother. After all that had happened Jellybean didn't believe she could have bared it.

"Judge, I want shared custody for my daughter, for her to be able to stay here with her brother and father too. It wouldn't be my place to take that away. Not from her or from them."

Jellybean entered the courtroom for the last time, her heart full of hope and once she walked out again she was truly Fp's daughter once more. She hugged her father and brother tightly and imagined the future she would have here.

A week passed where Gladys, Jughead, Fp and Gladys all stayed together in Riverdale. Spring was in full flourish that Wednesday afternoon when Gladys and Jellybean walked down the footpath by the park for the last time. Gladys would be leaving the next day and in two weeks Jellybean would join her again in Toledo.

That evening a taxi waited outside the Jones' house and Jellybean hugged her mother goodbye. Gladys squeezed her daughter tightly but didn't hold on quite as long as when she hugged her son. Jughead had promised he'd come and visit her in Toledo on weekends and holidays but she still held him like she'd never see him again.

Gladys ignored the tear on her cheek and gave Fp one last hug goodbye before getting into the taxi. Jellybean had asked her mother to stay longer but Gladys had shaken her head. She said she belonged in Toledo and hadn't belonged in Riverdale for a long time. Jellybean didn't belong in only Toledo or only Riverdale, she belonged in both. She belonged wherever her family was.

The three Joneses watched as the taxi drove away, waving. When the car disappeared out of sight Jughead grabbed Jellybean's hand. She squeezed it, telling him silently that she was okay. She glanced over at Jughead to make sure he was okay. She gripped his hand tighter and didn't mention the tears in his eyes.

She hoped he would go to Mr. Whitman too. Maybe not tomorrow or for another year but soon, when he completely trusted Gladys and it was what he wanted.

Jellybean put her hand in her pocket and pulled it out to found a crumpled piece of paper inside. It wasn't quite crumpled but fused. It must have been in there when her clothes had been sent to the wash. She opened it carefully and tried to read it what it said.

She grinned. It was her 14 step plan. She remembered writing it with Jughead what felt like months ago. She'd completely forgotten about it, though she supposed things worked out without it. Better then she'd planned in fact.

"What's that?"

Jughead asked, glancing down. She shrugged,

"nothing important," and stuffed it back into her pocket.

She didn't let go of Jughead's hand and started walking back to the house, Fp kept his distance as he walked after them.

"We should host that welcome home party for you soon, you know?"

Jughead suggested as they reached the house. Jellybean smiled at her brother and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it folks! Check out my other stories too if you're interested and leave a final review of what you thought about this story! Also I will be uploading 'Knocking on death's door' and rewriting 'Forgotten' on Fanfiction.net but maybe here as well in the future! How knows?!  
> Thank you for the love and support.  
> Charlotte.

**Author's Note:**

> The following story takes place somewhere between episodes 15-17 and the actual events of Riverdale have been set on hold. All recommendations, suggestions, ideas and reviews on this story are very welcome and will be taken into consideration.  
> Note that everything is according to the show apart from added storylines and Jellybean's age.  
> Enjoy.  
> More of this story is posted under the same name on Fanfiction.net (up to thirty chapters)  
> 


End file.
